Viscosity for iOS? Possible?

Suggestions/comments/criticisms are welcome here

csj

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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:03 am

Post by csj » Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:09 am
Is there anything, AppStore or Apple rules, that make it impossible to create a iOS version of Viscosity? The only app I can find OpenVPN Connect is nowhere near the quality that Viscosity for OS X. I know it might be an unfair comparison. But Viscosity for iOS in 2015 would be more than lovely!

James

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Joined: Thu Sep 04, 2008 9:27 pm

Post by James » Thu Jan 08, 2015 11:15 am
Hi csj,

In short: it's something we really want to release, and something we're working towards.

The full story is however more complex. Apple do restrict access to the iOS VPN framework: you need special permission to access it. However this isn't what is holding up an iOS release of Viscosity, rather it's the GPL (the license of the OpenVPN protocol source base).

Apple's App Store rules forbid the use of GPL licensed software. This means we need to write our own OpenVPN protocol implementation, from scratch, to avoid the use of the GPL. And this is what we have been working on: I'd estimate we are about half way there. It's disappointing in that this leads to fragmentation of OpenVPN protocol (we'd much rather be spending our time contributing features to the OpenVPN code base) however unfortunately there is no alternative.

The OpenVPN Connect applications take the same approach: they are not making use of the Open Source OpenVPN protocol base, but rather a commercial implementation that has been written from scratch as well.

So to sum up: keep an eye on our Blog for news, but at this stage it's too early to know any timeframe details.

Cheers,
James
Web: https://www.sparklabs.com
Support: https://www.sparklabs.com/support
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparklabs

csj

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Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2015 6:03 am

Post by csj » Fri Jan 16, 2015 11:53 pm
Wow, Apples App Store rules and terms are getting more and more ridiculous by the day. I really wish that this wasn't the scenario. Who win by everybody sitting on their own little closed off code islands... Well.

Thank you James for the detailed answer, I really appreciate it. And I will keep my eyes on the blog and forum posts.

And good luck with writing your own OpenVPN protocol. But i'm sure lots of people, including myself, will the exciting when it's done.

Nyr

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Joined: Fri Jul 27, 2012 1:51 am

Post by Nyr » Fri Sep 25, 2015 8:18 am
Any update on this?

The VPN extensions are now open to all developers and OpenVPN Connect seems to be abandoned so competition at the moment is non-existent.

DieHard4

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Joined: Sun May 17, 2015 2:30 pm

Post by DieHard4 » Sat Nov 14, 2015 1:46 pm
Yep, would like to know if any progress in this project as OpenVPN Connect App is not so aggressive to make updates and fixing bugs for a very long time.

Will promote the OpenVPN App version by SparkLab to all my customers.

Actually, I have abandoned the OpenVPN Connect App Android version and used another very good alternative name OpenVPN App as it is more reliable and updates as expected to fix the problems / bugs.

I have asked the developer of OpenVPN App for Android but he is not familiar with iOS development and Apple's restrictions.

So, do hope SparkLab could release such alernative on iOS to support users who need the app updated and improved more frequently.

Looking forward to it!
Nyr wrote:
Any update on this?

The VPN extensions are now open to all developers and OpenVPN Connect seems to be abandoned so competition at the moment is non-existent.

cobbers83

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Joined: Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:06 am

Post by cobbers83 » Fri Dec 10, 2021 6:08 am
Just wondering if there are any updates on this? I don't like OpenVPN Connect on iOS and have tried Passepartout, which is ok, but I absolutely love Viscosity on Mac and would love to have the same experience in iOS. Thanks!

James

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Post by James » Fri Dec 10, 2021 8:39 pm
Hi cobbers83,

Sorry, not much we can add at this stage. The thread above was obviously from a long time ago, and some things have changed (the iOS VPN APIs are much improved) and some things haven't (regarding the GPL). We've been working steadily away behind the scenes on a number of projects, but we really don't want to report anything publicly until we have something ready to show.

Cheers,
James
Web: https://www.sparklabs.com
Support: https://www.sparklabs.com/support
Twitter: https://twitter.com/sparklabs
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