Questions and Answers
Lantern is a software application for desktop and mobile that gives access to blocked websites and apps.
Lantern is unique because it uses a variety of techniques to stay unblocked in censored regions around the world, falling back to other approaches if some of those techniques are blocked. The developer team at Lantern is constantly adapting and revising those techniques depending on the blocking environment. User feedback are also integral parts of Lantern, with new releases incorporating suggestions and addressing concerns.
Lantern Pro gives you all the features of our free version and more:
Faster speeds Lantern Pro limits the number of users on each server to offer you faster speeds.
Three devices With a Pro account, you can use Lantern on three devices and enjoy the benefits of Lantern on your desktop and mobile devices.
Better performance With servers distributed globally, Lantern Pro’s dynamic server allocation is constantly looking to connect you to the best performing server ensuring a smooth and uninterrupted connection.
Unlimited data Lantern Pro provides you with unlimited data to browse the web, stream videos and download content..
With Lantern you get to the Internet the fastest way possible.
When a website is not blocked, Lantern gets you there faster by directing you to that website directly, without going through Lantern servers.
When a website is blocked, Lantern directs you through its fastest proxy node, to get to the site.
Lantern encrypts all your traffic in transit through our servers to protect your data and privacy.
Lantern collects diagnostic information when users share feedback and other information for debugging purposes. We also collect usage analytics of our apps and website to offer you a better user experience. The Lantern settings allow you to configure this according to your personal preferences. If you choose to send Lantern diagnostic and usage data, we will not share, sell or lease this data to third parties or use it for any other purpose than making our services better for our users.
Lantern is designed to provide you with unfettered access to information online. Lantern is not an anonymity tool, so if you need or would like to be anonymous online, please use Tor. Otherwise, Lantern will give you faster access to blocked sites.
Lantern Pro is built on the same improved Lantern technology, but is faster, more blocking resistant and has unlimited data.
Faster: Pro allocates less users per server, thereby giving users improved performance. Furthermore, Pro uses different servers than Free.
Blocking resistant: Lantern Pro is more blocking resistant because Censors can’t identify the servers unless they also have Pro. Also, Lantern Pro employs Smart Servers so if one server is not performing, the user is transferred to another, ensuring steady connection. This allows for improved defense against censor interference with your connection. The Lantern dev team works on a 24 hour schedule to be able to identify blocking techniques by censors and respond quickly to ensure that any users experiencing blocking are online as soon as possible.
Unlimited Data: Lantern Pro doesn’t limit data usage, so that those that are reliant on a fast unblocked connection can access all their online content and information whenever they need.
To switch from the free version to Lantern Pro, just download Lantern and click on the upgrade button within the interface.
The payment feature makes Lantern more blocking resistant because censors cannot infiltrate or block Lantern Pro without paying, which gives you, the user, more stability. We’ve offered Lantern Pro at a competitive price to help us stay around to continue to provide the fastest and most blocking resistant way to get you online.
You can purchase one year of Pro for $27, or two years of Pro for $48. We accept Alipay and the following credit cards: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club.
Every user gets a unique referral code that can be shared with friends. If a friend signs up for the 2 year plan using your code, you each get 3 additional months of pro for free, the one year plan gets you each 1 month free. Start inviting!
As Lantern users continue to grow, costs of maintaining it increase significantly each month. In order to stick around and keep building and innovating for our users, we need to support our operations by charging a small fee.
To keep our free version running, we implemented a bandwidth limitation of 800 MB/ month. When the bandwidth limit is reached, the connection is slowed down and Free users are prompted to upgrade to Lantern Pro.
As Lantern users continue to grow, costs of maintaining it increase significantly each month. In order to stick around and keep building and innovating for our users, we need to support our operations by charging a small fee.
To keep our free version running, we implemented a bandwidth limitation of 800 MB/ month.. When the bandwidth limit is reached, the connection is slowed down and Free users are prompted to upgrade to Lantern Pro.
Lantern is open, anyone can check our source code to see how everything works and make an informed decision. We welcome experts to audit our system and would appreciate any feedback (security@getlantern.org).
Once you download and install Lantern, the Lantern icon will appear in the system tray on the lower right of your screen on Windows and in the menu bar at the top of your screen on OSX. As long as the icon is is there, it means Lantern is running and that you can access blocked sites in any browser automatically. If you ever wish to stop Lantern, you can do so in the menu that appears when you click on the Lantern icon in the system tray or menu bar.
If you have more questions, please connect with us on Facebook or visit our User Forum.
If you have more technical questions, please see the Developers Q&A section of our developers forum.