VPN for Claude
Campus Wi-Fi, office firewalls, hotel hotspots and some mobile carriers block AI assistants outright. Horizon VPN puts claude.ai, the Claude apps and api.anthropic.com behind one encrypted tunnel, so the network you happen to be on stops deciding whether your tools work.
Covers claude.ai, the desktop and mobile apps, and Claude Code
Stealth and TLS protocols for networks that block VPNs
Prompts and code stay encrypted on shared Wi-Fi
Get past the network, not the provider
Filters on school, office and public networks block Claude by domain or by port. A VPN takes that decision away from the local network: it sees one encrypted connection to a Horizon server and nothing about the site you opened or the words you typed.
Keep prompts private on shared Wi-Fi
Work notes, customer data and source code all end up in a Claude conversation. On a cafe, hotel or airport hotspot the path between your device and the internet is open to whoever runs the access point. Horizon encrypts that whole path.
One tunnel for every Claude surface
The browser, the macOS and Windows desktop apps, the iOS and Android apps and Claude Code in your terminal all ride the same system-wide tunnel. There is no per-application proxy to configure and nothing to change inside Claude.
What a VPN changes, and what it does not
A VPN is a network tool. It is worth being exact about the part of the problem it solves before you rely on it.
Horizon changes this
- The route your traffic takes and the IP address the service sees.
- Whether a local firewall, campus filter or ISP can block or throttle the connection.
- Who else on the network can read what you send.
Horizon does not change this
- Whether Anthropic offers Claude to you. Anthropic publishes a list of supported countries and regions, and Claude is not offered in every country.
- Your account itself, including the country you registered in, your phone number and your payment method.
- Anthropic's Usage Policy and Supported Regions Policy, which apply to you no matter which network you connect from.
Horizon exists to keep a connection you are entitled to working on a network that gets in the way. It is not a route around Anthropic's regional eligibility rules. Read Anthropic's supported countries and regions before you subscribe for this reason.
Which parts of Claude this covers
claude.ai in the browser
The web app loads over the tunnel like any other site. The browser extension is an option when you only want Claude routed and the rest of your traffic left alone.
Claude desktop apps
The macOS and Windows apps use the operating system network stack, so they follow the Horizon tunnel as soon as it is up.
Claude mobile apps
On iOS and Android, Horizon connects as a system VPN. Everything the Claude app sends leaves the phone inside the tunnel, on Wi-Fi and on mobile data.
Claude Code and the API
Claude Code talks to api.anthropic.com over HTTPS. Terminal traffic goes through the system tunnel with the rest, so no proxy variables are needed for it to reach the API.
Getting Claude working in four steps
Questions about using Claude over a VPN
Does a VPN make Claude available in a country Anthropic does not serve?
No. Anthropic publishes a list of supported countries and regions, and eligibility follows your account, not only the address you connect from. A VPN changes your route and your IP address; it does not change the country on your account, your phone number or your payment method, and Anthropic's Supported Regions Policy still applies. Check that list before you buy a subscription for this purpose.
My office or campus network blocks claude.ai. Will Horizon help?
That is the case a VPN is built for. The filter is on the local network, and once the tunnel is up that network sees a single encrypted connection to a Horizon server instead of a request for claude.ai.
What should I do if the network blocks the VPN as well?
Start on the Auto protocol. If the tunnel does not come up, switch to Stealth, which is an obfuscated tunnel built for filtered networks, or to TLS. Both are designed for networks that inspect traffic and drop anything that looks like a VPN.
Does Claude Code work over Horizon?
Yes. Claude Code reaches api.anthropic.com over ordinary HTTPS, and the Horizon tunnel is system-wide, so terminal traffic follows it along with everything else. You do not need to set proxy environment variables.
Will a VPN slow Claude down?
A VPN adds encryption and extra distance, so some overhead is unavoidable. Claude streams short bursts of text rather than large files, which makes latency matter more than bandwidth. Choose a server in the nearest supported country for the best result.
Can other people see what I ask Claude?
Not on the local network. Everything between your device and the Horizon server is encrypted, so the Wi-Fi operator and your ISP see the tunnel and nothing inside it. What you send to Anthropic is still governed by Anthropic's own privacy policy.
Use cases
Related VPN guides
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Download VPNInstall Horizon VPN on desktop, mobile, TV and the browser.
VPN pricingPick the plan that covers every device you work on.
No-logs policySee exactly what Horizon does and does not record.