VPN
Buy a VPN plan with shielded ZEC, then add its subscription link to a VPN client on each of your devices.
A VPN from ZATS Market has no account, no email, and no name on it. You pay the provider's invoice with shielded ZEC from your account's Ironwood pool. You get a private link that you add to a VPN client on each device.
What you get with a VPN plan
A VPN plan gives you one subscription link that covers every server of the VPN provider.
- A private subscription link, as text and as a QR code.
- Two protocols, VLESS-Reality and Hysteria2, built to look like ordinary web traffic.
- Servers in several countries. The VPN page in the app lists them, and new servers appear in your VPN client on their own.
- A plan of one month or three months, for several devices. The pay step shows how many devices.
Before you buy a VPN plan
To buy a VPN plan, you need:
- An account in ZATS Market, unlocked in this browser. See your account.
- Enough shielded ZEC in Ironwood for the plan and the network fee. To add ZEC, make a deposit.
- A VPN client that takes a subscription link, on each device where you want the VPN.
Ironwood is the shielded pool that your account pays from. The app sends one payment from Ironwood at a time, so an earlier payment must settle first.
Buy a VPN plan
Choose a plan length
Open Explore and select VPN, or go to app.zats.market/vpn. Under Plan, choose one month or three months.
Review and pay for the plan
Check the plan, its devices, the price, and the ZEC that you pay with the network fee. Type your password, then select Pay.
The VPN plan runs from the moment the provider switches it on. Payments are final.
After you pay for a VPN plan
After you pay, the app opens the tracker: the panel that follows the purchase to its end. The tracker shows each step and how long it usually takes.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Paid from Ironwood | Your browser sends the payment to the provider's invoice. |
| In a block | A Zcash block includes the payment. |
| Plan switched on | The provider sees the payment, switches the plan on, and issues the link. |
The status says VPN ready when the link arrives. You can keep browsing while you wait. The tracker follows the purchase on any page while your account stays unlocked.
Add the VPN to your devices
The tracker shows Your VPN once the plan is on: the subscription link as a QR code and as text, with Copy.
The link is the whole plan
Anyone who has the link can use your plan. Keep a copy somewhere safe, and share it with nobody.
To add the VPN to a device:
- Install a VPN client that takes a subscription link. The tracker names a few.
- In the client, add a profile from the clipboard, or scan the QR code.
- Pick a server and connect.
Repeat these steps on each device. The tracker also shows about when the plan runs out.
Find your VPN plan later
Every VPN plan that you buy stays in the app, under your account. The app asks you to unlock the account first.
- My items lists the plans that your account bought, except failed purchases. On a phone, the tab is Items.
- Transactions lists every purchase with its status. On a phone, the tab is Activity.
Each row opens the plan's tracker, with the link and its QR code. The tracker also lists the facts: plan, the date it runs until, price, ZEC paid, network fee, and invoice. For the tracker and both lists, see paying and following a purchase.
What ZATS holds for a VPN plan
ZATS holds no money for a VPN plan. You pay the provider's own invoice from Ironwood, at the provider's price, and ZATS adds nothing.
The VPN provider asks for no account and no email. The subscription link is the whole account, and the app keeps it sealed under your account in ZATS Market.
If a VPN purchase fails
The app says what happened, and whether any ZEC left your account.
| Message | What it means |
|---|---|
| Nothing was paid. | The purchase stopped before any ZEC left Ironwood. The message says why. Fix the cause and pay again. |
| Ironwood is short for this plan | Ironwood holds less than the plan and its fee. Make a deposit, then come back. |
| An earlier payment from Ironwood is still settling | The app sends one payment from Ironwood at a time. Try again in a few minutes. |
| The invoice asked for an address this account cannot pay | The app stopped before it paid anything. Nothing was paid. |
| Payment refused | The Zcash network did not take the payment. Nothing left your account. |
| Payment not seen | The provider closed the invoice without seeing the payment. ZATS keeps checking. Keep the purchase: its invoice and its payment recover the plan. |