ExpressVPN Launches Lightway 2.0, Free For Anybody to Use

ExpressVPN, one of our favorite virtual private networks, will start rolling out a direct upgrade to its Lightway protocol. Called Lightway 2.0, it promises greater speed for users. It’s also entirely open source, and can be used by anybody for their own uses—and that includes rival VPNs.

What Is Lightway 2.0?

Lightway 2.0 is a new VPN protocol developed by ExpressVPN. The original Lightway was launched in 2021 and, according to Dr. Pete Membrey (ExpressVPN’s chief engineer) was designed to counter the shortcomings of the two other main protocols in use today: OpenVPN and WireGuard. The idea was to make a protocol that was not just fast, but also amnesic—designed to not keep logs.

Multiple audits over the years have confirmed that Lightway does not keep logs—which is fair enough, but I do, as usual, have some remarks on whether you should trust your VPN.

During testing for my ExpressVPN review, the “old” Lightway performed well—extremely well, even. ExpressVPN is, in my experience, one of the fastest VPNs on the market. All VPNs will lose some speed when connecting to off-site servers; ExpressVPN manages to lose very little.

However, Dr. Membrey wanted to further upgrade the protocol by rewriting it, almost line by line, from its original C in the Rust programming language, which is supposed to make the protocol even faster, both in connection time and the speed you get. This is impressive, and a great way for consumers to get even more bang for their buck. As interesting as that is, it’s not what sets Lightway apart.

What Can Lightway 2.0 Be Used For?

Not merely content with building a really cool protocol for their own use, the engineers at ExpressVPN have set the ambitious goal of becoming the new standard for the VPN industry. As such, Lightway 2.0 is fully open-source, and comes with a free license. Anybody can use it, including the company’s competitors.

It won’t just be engineers who will be able to implement it, either. Lightway 2.0 comes with documentation that will allow pretty much anybody to use it to set up a network of their own. This will likely be a massive boon for activists, journalists, and human rights defenders, to name but a few, who can use Lightway to attempt to evade government censorship.

Though groups like this will still need to figure out how to set up a physical infrastructure for their new network—you need VPN servers to set up a VPN network, after all—it does take away a massive hurdle for people who need the protection that only a VPN can offer, while also making sure it’s only their group that can access the network.

Future of VPNs?

There’s no doubt that Lightway 2.0 is a bold move on the part of ExpressVPN as it starts rolling out the protocol: it’s currently active on the Aircove router, and will be available on other apps as the year progresses.

The benefit to consumers seems obvious: more speed is always better, assuming ExpressVPN’s promises come true. In my opinion, though, the biggest beneficiaries are human rights defenders. The protocols we’re using now can be a pain if you want to set up your own VPN server. If Lightway manages to make this easier somehow, this could be a real blow for activists everywhere.

Source: ExpressVPN