# Lantern

Open-source VPN for speed, privacy, and censorship circumvention. Free to download on Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Repository: https://github.com/getlantern/lantern
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/lantern
Language: Dart
License: GPL-3.0
License Family: copyleft
Topics: lantern, vpn, censorship, circumvention, gfw, accelerator, router
Last push: 2026-08-26T22:33:06+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 89/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 99, release rhythm 71, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5676, "days_push": 7, "days_rel": 119, "gap_med": 36, "n_releases_24m": 6}
- flags: none
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 15910, forks 11052 (observed 2026-08-28T04:11:14.422579+00:00)

## What it is
Lantern is a cross-platform internet censorship circumvention tool (proxy/VPN client) that helps users bypass firewalls such as the Great Firewall of China. This repository serves as the official download hub distributing installers for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS.

## Use cases
- bypass the great firewall to access blocked websites
- circumvent internet censorship from china
- download a free vpn-style proxy client for windows and android
- unblock restricted sites and apps behind a national firewall
- get a censorship circumvention tool for multiple platforms
- access the open internet from a censored network

## When to choose
- you need a simple one-click anti-censorship client on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, or iOS
- you are behind the GFW or similar national firewall and need a proxy with built-in fallbacks
- you want a free tool with official mirrors for reliable downloads

## When to avoid
- you need a fully audited, self-hosted VPN with full traffic encryption guarantees
- you require WireGuard/OpenVPN protocol compatibility or your own server infrastructure
- you need actively maintained software - the latest release dates to April 2022

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: maintenance
- function: proxy, vpn, privacy, security
- domain: censorship-circumvention, privacy, networking
- platform: windows, cross-platform
- tags: censorship-circumvention, gfw, internet-freedom, anti-censorship, download-mirror, macos, linux, android, ios

## Member repositories
- getlantern/lantern (main) score 89
- getlantern/download (mirror) score 10
- getlantern/lantern-binaries-archive (mirror) score 32

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:14.422579+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T17:02:27.149780+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/getlantern/lantern (fetched 2026-08-28T04:11:14.422579+00:00, sha 48332459bfb9)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.