FoxWay – Targeted Real IP Privacy

🔄 Tired of switching VPN on and off? 🦊 FoxWay hides your IP only where you need it — in the apps 📱 and sites 🌐 you choose. 🔒Privacy, on demand.

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FoxWay – Project Overview

🌟 Inspiration

People keep asking themselves, “Did I turn on my VPN?” because VPNs affect the whole device.
Most of the time you only need privacy or geo-unblocking for a few sites or apps. FoxWay protects your real IP only when it matters — routing that traffic through relay proxies so you stay private without toggles or slowdowns.

🚀 What it does

FoxWay is a privacy-first, on-demand routing layer.
It hides your original IP only for the requests that need anonymity or geo access — no global VPN switch and no unnecessary performance hit.

Beyond IP protection, FoxWay gives you powerful DNS control:

  • 🚫 Ad & tracker blocking built-in with AdGuard DNS.
  • 🌐 Easily switch between trusted public DoH providers.
  • 🔧 Bring your own DoH server for maximum flexibility.

🛠️ How we built it

  • ⚡ Lightweight iOS network extension (Relay) that runs in the background and routes traffic through HTTPS for encryption.
  • 🔄 Smart routing so most traffic stays local for speed.
  • 🔒 Leak protection with DNS-over-HTTPS and safeguards.
  • 🧩 Simple onboarding so anyone can be private without setup pain.

⚔️ Challenges we ran into

  • Maintaining consistent usage tracking across load-balanced relays while preserving user privacy.
  • Supporting PROXY Protocol V2 and reliably forwarding TCP streams between relays.
  • Securely authenticating users on relay servers to prevent abuse.

🏆 Accomplishments that we're proud of

  • ✅ Fully-tested IP protection on public hotspots and campus networks without breaking sessions.
  • ✅ Non-technical users could use the app right away — no confusing VPN toggles.
  • ✅ Stable multi-connection support across distributed relay servers.

📚 What we learned

User Experience (UX) matters as much as privacy.
People want assurance, not complexity. In short: convention over configuration.

🔮 What's next for FoxWay

  • 🤝 Kickstart the FoxWay Community to make FoxWay community-driven.
    • Launch spaces: Discord, Reddit, Telegram.
    • Constantly gather and listen to community feedback to improve the product.
    • Run a beta tester program with early builds and surveys.
    • Recognize community members with lightweight badges/credits.
  • 🌍 Open-source an omni forward-proxy framework (based on Pingora).
  • 👁️ Add a simple privacy indicator that shows when your real IP is hidden.
  • 📱 Better per-app controls and tighter iOS integration.
  • 📡 Public FoxWay Status (relay 🟢 uptime, 🚀 latency, and 📶 availability) in real time.

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