Hello, Vinea

Vinea is a smart-routing Chrome proxy extension — plug and play, with no background process — that makes cross-region access simpler, more stable, and more seamless. This is our first blog post, introducing where Vinea came from, its design philosophy, and how it differs from traditional VPNs and proxy switchers.

Why we make Vinea

The starting point for Vinea was simple: existing cross-region access tools are either too heavy or too fragmented.

System-wide VPNs are too heavy. OpenVPN, WireGuard, and similar global VPNs take over all of your device's traffic once enabled — torrents, system updates, video calls, everything goes through the proxy. Proxy bandwidth gets crushed, local services slow down. Worse, when the proxy drops, the whole device loses connectivity.

Pure proxy switchers are too fragmented. Extensions like SwitchyOmega are excellent tools, but they're only "proxy switchers" — you have to buy or build your own proxy server, write your own PAC files, and maintain your own domain rule lists. The barrier is too high for non-technical users; even for technical users, the maintenance cost is non-trivial.

Free Hola-style extensions are unsafe. Free extensions like Hola and Browsec often resell user nodes as P2P exits — your IP could be used by others to access illegal content, and you carry the legal liability. These risks have been exposed repeatedly in 2024.

We wanted a middle path: works only in the browser, doesn't touch other system apps; auto-detects domestic vs. foreign domains, no manual switching; built-in nodes, no self-hosting; no browsing logs, privacy under control. That's Vinea.

What Vinea is

Vinea is a browser proxy extension built on Chrome's Manifest V3 architecture. Core features:

• Smart routing: auto-detects domestic vs. foreign domains — domestic direct, foreign via proxy, no manual switching
• Custom rules: right-click any page to add proxy/direct rules, instantly applied
• Profile-level identity: work profile on US nodes, leisure profile on JP nodes, fully isolated
• Seamless switching: new connection established before old one drops, visually zero-interruption
• Zero footprint: no system tray, close browser and it stops

What Vinea is not

Boundaries matter:

• Not a system VPN: only handles browser traffic, does not proxy other system apps (CLI, desktop apps, system updates bypass Vinea)
• Not an anonymity tool: Vinea does not promise resistance to nation-state traffic analysis. Its target users are "regular workers who need to access overseas sites", not journalists or activists
• No browsing logs: the server does not store which domains you visited or what content you viewed (see Security & Privacy)

Comparison with traditional options

| Dimension | System VPN | SwitchyOmega | Hola/Browsec | Vinea | |-----------|-----------|--------------|--------------|-------| | Scope | Whole device | Browser only | Browser only | Browser only | | Nodes | Self-host/paid | Bring your own | Free (P2P resale) | Built-in paid | | Rule config | Manual switch | Manual PAC | Automatic | Smart routing + custom | | Background process | Yes | No | No | No | | Privacy | Depends on provider | Depends on your server | High risk | No browsing logs | | Onboarding | Medium | High | Low | Low |

How Vinea works

Vinea uses Chrome's chrome.proxy.settings API to configure the browser proxy. Workflow:

1. Set proxy server: tell the browser which proxy node to use
2. Set bypass list: tell the browser which domains connect directly (domestic domains auto-detected)
3. Browser routes itself: the browser engine decides per-request whether to use proxy or direct

Vinea acts as a "configurator", not a "middleman". After setting the rules, the browser engine handles actual traffic routing — the extension itself never touches any page content or response data. This is the core of Vinea's privacy design: configures rules, doesn't touch content.

Who it's for

• Workers who need to access Google, ChatGPT, YouTube, and other overseas services
• People who also use Feishu, CNKI, and other domestic services and don't want them slowed by a global proxy
• Technical users tired of manually toggling SwitchyOmega rules
• People who don't trust free extensions' safety and are willing to pay for a trustworthy service

Frequently asked questions

How is Vinea different from SwitchyOmega?

SwitchyOmega is a pure proxy switcher — you provide the proxy server and configure rules manually. Vinea ships with built-in nodes and smart routing rules, so it works out of the box without setting up your own server or writing PAC files.

Do I need to run my own proxy server with Vinea?

No. Vinea provides built-in nodes (US, Japan, Singapore, etc.) — install, sign in, and use. If you already have your own proxy server, you can also add it manually in settings.

Does Vinea run in the background?

No. Vinea is a browser extension and runs only within the browser process. Close the browser and the extension stops — no system tray, no background process left behind.

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To learn how Vinea's smart routing automatically directs traffic by domain, read Smart Routing Explained.

New users get a 3-day free trial after install — setup takes about a minute.

Read the install guide ->