Platform and feature support

Supported Android versions?

The application supports all versions of Android down to version 7 (Lollipop, API 24). It has been successfully tested up to Android 17 (API 37) included.

Supported architectures?

Compiled for ARM-v7a, ARM64-v8a, x86, x86-64. Support for ARM-v5TE has been dropped since tincapp v0.15, this architecture having been removed from the Android NDK r17.

Bundled tinc version?

1.1 branch, backward compatible with the 1.0 protocol, compiled with LibreSSL and LZO.

No switch mode support?

The switch mode is not supported, since no tap device is exposed by the underlying Android VPN API. Only the router mode, operating on the IP layer, is available.

Multiple networks?

Selection between multiple netnames is supported. However, only one can be active at once due to limitations of the underlying API.

No hook script support?

No shell interpreter is available to execute hook scripts. The configuration of the network interface is done through network.conf.

What is network.conf?

This platform-specific file replaces hook scripts for the configuration of the network interface, routes, DNS, allowed and disallowed applications.

No nets.boot?

Replaced by the system “always-on VPN” feature and an Intent API, allowing VPN connections to be activated automatically at boot or by using third party applications for automation purposes.

No graphical configuration editor?

Tinc on desktop is configured through text files. This mobile app does not try to go against this paradigm.

Config and host key files can be copied through the system’s file manager. Those text files can be edited with third-party applications like Simple Markdown.

No default gateway route?

Traffic can be routed to gateways using tinc’s internal routing. In particular, all traffic can be routed to the VPN by adding a catch-all route in network.conf:

Route = 0.0.0.0/0

Internals

fd_device?

The Android VPN API returns a file descriptor to an underlying tun device. Support for such device has been added to upstream tinc 1.1 as part of commits 7a54fe5 and f522393.

Why is the Intent API starting an Activity instead of a Service?

An activity is used as a proxy to start the underlying TincVpnService in order to ask the user for the VPN permission through a special system dialog.

Other

Permissions required by the application?

Full network access is required to allow tinc to communicate with other nodes. Camera access is required for the “Join network via QR code” feature.

Alternatives?

Vilbrekin’s Tinc GUI and culugyx’s root-free fork (dead link).

License?

Source code released under the GNU GPL v3. Content on the website released under the GNU FDL v1.3.

Price?

Free on the Google Play Store, on F-Droid, and on this website. The app is available on the Google Play Store courtesy of Jouleworks Development LLC.

Donations?

I gladly accept donations through PayPal. Please also consider donating to the tinc VPN project. Thanks!