A VPN for Yandex Browser comes in two kinds: an extension inside the browser and an app for the whole device. Below: how they differ, how to set Mayak up so that Yandex Browser goes through it, how to send only the browser through the tunnel and how to check the result. Everything here is as of 22 October 2026.
In short. Mayak has no extension: it installs as an app on the device, and Yandex Browser goes through it together with everything else. On Android you can send only the browser through the tunnel: Settings → Split tunnel → new preset → Only selected. On Windows and Mac the Happ app works with the subscription link from your account page. One check fits all: the My IP page opened in Yandex Browser itself.
We make Mayak. Our own app is for Android and Android TV, and for computers and iPhone there is a subscription link. One account for all devices, any browser. 3 days free after you confirm your email, no card needed. The trial is free and needs no card; without an email it is 1 day.
🍎 On iPhone, Mayak works through the subscription link from your account page. The real Happ (publisher Flyfrog LLC) is not in the Russian App Store — searching that word there brings up look-alike apps from other publishers. INCY (publisher LLC ITDEV) works instead: checked on 22 September 2026.
An extension or an app: the difference
An extension lives inside the browser and changes only the browser: Yandex Browser's tabs go through the extension's server, while the other apps — messengers, mail, games — reach the network as before. A VPN app works at the system level: it brings up a secure tunnel, and everything the device sends goes through it, the browser included.
| Browser extension | App on the device | |
|---|---|---|
| What goes through the server | only this browser's tabs | the whole device or selected apps |
| Another browser and other apps | unprotected | through the tunnel unless excluded |
| Access to pages | usually asks to read and change data on all sites | no such permission needed: it works below the browser |
| Where it is installed | in each browser separately | once per device |
The permission to “read and change data on all sites” means exactly that: an extension with it sees every page you open. How free extensions get paid for is covered in a separate article.
Yandex Browser on Android: all of the phone through Mayak, or just the browser
- Install Mayak from Google Play or as a file from our site (how to download) and create the account right in the app.
- Pick a country and connect. The first time, Android asks for permission to connect — tap OK. From then on Yandex Browser goes through the tunnel together with the other apps: that is how Android works for every VPN app when there are no exclusion lists.
Want only the browser to go through Mayak? That is split tunneling:
- Settings → Split tunnel → “＋ New preset”.
- In the editor choose Only selected and tick Yandex Browser (the list has a search). Save.
- Select this preset and reconnect: Android applies the lists only when connecting, so without this step nothing changes.
Yandex opens websites in two different apps: Yandex Browser and the Yandex app. To the system they are two separate apps — tick the one you use, or both. Modes and pitfalls in detail — in the split tunneling article.
And the RU Apps preset? It is Mayak's ready-made preset that sends Russian banks, Gosuslugi and marketplaces past the tunnel. Yandex Browser and the Yandex app are exceptions in it: they go through the tunnel even with the preset on. That is the list on our server as of 22 October 2026.
Yandex Browser on a computer: Windows, Mac and Linux
Mayak has no app of its own for computers yet, and we do not name dates. You can connect already:
- Windows and Mac — the free Happ app and the subscription link from your account page (the “Connect by link” card). We tested this route on Windows 11 with a live connection on 25 September 2026. Steps — for Windows and for Mac.
- Linux — the AmneziaWG settings file from your account page for the official AmneziaWG app: a system-level tunnel that carries the whole computer.
Which Happ mode to pick. Happ on a computer has two modes, and the switch is in Happ itself. In one, browsers and programs that use the system network settings go through Mayak; in TUN mode the whole computer does, but you may lose access to the printer and other devices at home. For a browser the first one is usually enough. Details — in the help centre.
⚠️ Honestly: we have not tested Yandex Browser with Happ separately. So on Windows and Mac the check is a must — it is in the section below and takes a minute.
Yandex Browser on iPhone
On iPhone, Mayak works through the subscription link in the INCY app (it is in the Russian App Store, checked on 22 September 2026) or in Happ. This is also a system-level connection, not an extension: Yandex Browser goes through it together with everything else. Steps — in the iPhone guide.
How to check that Yandex Browser goes through the VPN
- Before connecting, open our My IP page in Yandex Browser and note the country and address.
- Connect and reload the page in the same browser. The country and address should change to those of the server you picked.
- They did not change — the browser goes past the tunnel. On Android check the split tunnel preset and reconnect; on a computer write to our support and name your system; in Happ try TUN mode.
There will be no VPN icon in Yandex Browser itself: the connection is system-wide, and Android shows it with a key icon in the status bar. How to make sure the connection is protected and not just showing another address — four checks.
One account for your phone and computer. Create an account, connect and open My IP in Yandex Browser — the check takes a minute. We do not ask for payment details for the trial. A confirmed email opens the access — 3 free days. An email is optional: without one the trial is 1 day.
🍎 On iPhone, Mayak works through the subscription link from your account page. The real Happ (publisher Flyfrog LLC) is not in the Russian App Store — searching that word there brings up look-alike apps from other publishers. INCY (publisher LLC ITDEV) works instead: checked on 22 September 2026.
If you still want an extension: what to check
An extension is handy when you need one browser and do not want to install an app. Before installing one, answer three questions for yourself:
- What does it live on? Servers cost money every month. If you are not paying, someone else is — usually with your data (four documented ways).
- Which permissions does it ask for? Access to all sites is access to everything you open and type in the browser.
- Does it encrypt the traffic? Redirecting tabs to another server and encrypting them are different things. The check is the same: address and site-name leaks.
What we tested
- The RU Apps preset. On 22 October 2026 we read the list on our server: Yandex Browser and the Yandex app are exceptions in it and go through the tunnel.
- Split tunnel in Mayak — from the code of version 1.0.0: item names, three modes, applied at the next connection.
- Happ on Windows 11 with the Mayak subscription link — a live connection on 25 September 2026.
- INCY in the Russian App Store — 22 September 2026.
What we do not know
- Yandex Browser with Mayak on a live phone we did not walk through separately for this article. We write from how Android routes apps through a VPN and from Mayak's code.
- Yandex Browser with Happ on Windows and Mac we did not test separately: we describe Happ's modes from our help centre.
- How the browser's own built-in features behave if they have their own way to the network. Not measured; the My IP page shows how ordinary tabs go.
- How the connection behaves on your network. Only you can see that — that is what the trial is for.
Short answers
Does Mayak have an extension for Yandex Browser? No. Mayak installs as an app on the device, and the browser goes through it together with everything else.
Can I turn the VPN on for Yandex Browser only? On Android — yes: split tunnel in Only selected mode with the browser ticked. On a computer the closest thing is the Happ mode in which browsers and programs that use the system network settings go through Mayak.
Why is an extension worse than an app? It covers only its own browser and usually asks for access to all sites. An app does not need that access.
Is there a free VPN for Yandex Browser? Mayak has no free plan. There is a trial without a card on two devices, then a plan.
Why is there no VPN icon in the browser? The connection is system-wide: on Android the key icon in the status bar shows it, not the browser.
Will my bank in Yandex Browser see another country? Yes, if the browser goes through the tunnel: the site sees the server's address. What to do about it — in the article on banks and Gosuslugi.