Who this guide is for
You play on shared-house, halls or hotel networks, or want to keep your home IP address out of peer-hosted lobbies.
Who it’s not for
If you want lower ping, a VPN won’t give you that: the extra step normally adds latency. It also can’t get round the regional rules games and stores set.
In short
- A VPN encrypts your traffic, so other devices on a shared network and your internet provider see one connection to a VPN server.
- While you’re connected, players in peer-hosted lobbies see the VPN server’s IP address instead of your home address.
- A VPN adds a step, so expect ping to rise a little rather than fall. A nearby server and split tunnelling (not on iPhone, iPad or Mac) keep the cost down.
- Games and stores set their own rules, and some restrict VPN use. We can’t promise any game or service will work while you’re connected.
On this page
Shared houses, student halls, a hotel on a work trip: a lot of gaming happens on networks somebody else runs. On a network like that, other devices are in a position to observe the traffic you generate, your internet provider can usually tell game and download traffic apart from everything else, and the address you connect from is handed to the other players in any peer-hosted lobby you join. A VPN puts an encrypted tunnel between your machine and everything beyond it, so what the local network and your provider see is a single connection to a DarkMatter server. WireGuard is the default protocol, and a network of 6,000+ servers across 65+ countries gives you somewhere sensible to route through.
Why people use a VPN for gaming
- Privacy from other people on the network. In halls, a shared house or a hotel you have no idea who else is connected or what they are running. AES-256 encryption means the rest of the network sees an encrypted tunnel rather than what you are playing, buying or typing.
- Your home address stays out of the lobby. Plenty of games connect players peer to peer, which means your IP address is visible to people you have never met. While you are connected, they see the VPN server’s address instead of yours.
- Traffic your provider cannot pick apart as easily. Some providers shape or slow particular kinds of traffic, large downloads and game updates especially. Inside a tunnel they see one encrypted connection to one server rather than a list of game servers and download hosts, so there is much less to single out.
- Several devices on one plan. One plan covers up to 5 devices at a time, so a gaming PC or Mac and the phones in a household are protected together rather than one at a time. The apps page lists every platform we cover.
- A home-country address while travelling. Connecting through a server in your own country gives you an IP address there while you are away, though every service still sets its own rules — see the honest note below.
How it works in practice
The app on your device encrypts everything before it leaves, sends it to a DarkMatter server, and the server passes it on to the game. Four things follow from that.
The local network is cut out of the picture. A hotel, café or halls network normally sees every destination you reach. Once your traffic is encrypted it sees one connection to one server and nothing about what is inside it. DNS leak protection and IPv6 leak protection are designed to close the two gaps where the lookups that reveal your destinations can escape the tunnel.
Your exit point changes. Traffic reaches the game from the server’s address rather than your line, which is what keeps your home IP out of peer-hosted sessions. You can see what your connection currently gives away with our IP checker.
You decide what goes through the tunnel. Split tunnelling (not on iPhone, iPad or Mac) sends some apps through the VPN and leaves the rest on the direct connection, which is useful when you want a download or a voice app protected while something latency-sensitive stays local.
A safety net if the tunnel drops. The kill switch in our Windows app is designed to block traffic if the VPN connection fails, so you do not quietly fall back onto the open network halfway through a session.
WireGuard is the default protocol, and OpenVPN, IKEv2 and IPSec are there as alternatives. You can pick from 80+ locations on the server locations page.
Every feature on every plan
Encrypt your connection on up to 5 devices at once
- Apps for Windows, macOS, iOS, Android and Fire TV
- Kill switch (Windows app)
- Split tunnelling (not on iPhone, iPad or Mac)
- DNS and IPv6 leak protection
- 30-day money-back guarantee on your first purchase (14 days on monthly plans)
With and without a VPN on a shared network
| On a shared or hotel network | Without a VPN | With DarkMatter |
|---|---|---|
| What other devices can see | Your destinations and traffic | An encrypted tunnel |
| Your IP in peer-to-peer lobbies | Your home address | The server’s address |
| How your provider sees your traffic | Game and download traffic identifiable | One encrypted connection |
| If the connection drops | Not applicable | Kill switch (Windows app) designed to block traffic |
| Latency | The direct route | Usually a little higher |
The honest bit
An honest note on ping, access and what we can promise
A VPN adds a step. Your traffic travels to our server before it reaches the game, so the extra distance normally adds latency rather than removing it. Anyone selling a VPN as a way to lower your ping or remove lag is overselling it. What you can do is keep the added distance small by choosing a server near you, and use split tunnelling (not on iPhone, iPad or Mac) to leave a competitive game on the direct connection while the rest of your traffic stays protected.
The same honesty applies to access. Games, launchers and stores set their own regional rules, and many of them detect and block VPN traffic, so we cannot promise that any particular game, store or service will work from any particular place. We are not offering a way around release dates, regional pricing or the terms of the services you use, and some publishers and anti-cheat systems restrict VPN use in their own rules, which is worth reading before you connect.
What we do promise is an encrypted, private connection and a money-back guarantee on your first purchase (30 days, or 14 days on monthly plans) if DarkMatter is not right for you.