Hiddify: Where to Download It, How to Set It Up and What the "Timeout" Error Means

In short: Hiddify is a free client app. It has no servers of its own - it is an empty window into which you paste a link from a service, and that link brings the list of servers. Below: where to get the app and why everyone looks for it on GitHub, how to set it up on PC, Android, Mac and Linux, what a “key” is, why the program says “timeout” while the internet works, and what an iPhone owner should do.

What Hiddify is and what it does

Hiddify is a free, open-source client app. It connects to a server using a subscription link and routes the device’s internet through it. Hiddify has no servers of its own: without a subscription from a VPN service the app does nothing.

In search it often shows up as “Hiddify VPN”. Open source means anyone can look at what the program is made of. There are no ads inside.

A small thing that confuses people: the app used to be called Hiddify Next. The name changed, the old one still turns up in guides and in the Google Play description. It is the same program - there is nothing separate to look for.

One more word you will meet many times below - subscription. In this field that means not a payment but a link with a list of servers: the service issues it, and the app connects using it. Other terms from this area are explained in the glossary.

Where to download Hiddify: the official site and why everyone searches GitHub

The project has its own site, but from Russia it does not always open - the connection often drops before reaching the page. That is exactly why “hiddify github” is searched far more often than the site itself: GitHub opens reliably, and the app is there.

The real project page is hiddify/hiddify-app. The old address hiddify/hiddify-next also works: it forwards to the new one by itself. Files for every system are in the Releases section.

Watch out for doubles. A search for “hiddify” returns plenty of other people’s sites. Some hand out the app and sell their own subscriptions alongside, others disguise themselves as the project - down to swapping a single letter in the address. There are sites calling themselves “the official Hiddify site 2026” and trading in access: they have nothing to do with the project.

The rule is simple: Google Play or the hiddify/hiddify-app page on GitHub - and nothing else.

What a key for Hiddify is

A key for Hiddify is the subscription link issued by a VPN service. It starts with vless:// or https:// and contains a list of servers. There are no servers inside the app itself.

The most common question after installing: the program is in place and the screen is empty. A key usually means exactly that subscription link - a long string starting with vless:// or https:// - or a QR code with the same link inside. There is no difference.

The same thing is called by different names, and that confuses people most of all. Key, config, configuration, profile, subscription - in guides and chats these are usually synonyms. The only difference is scope: a config normally means a single server, while a subscription is a link the app uses to pull the whole list and keep it updated.

What a “key” definitely does not mean. It is not an activation code: Hiddify does not need activating. And it has no servers inside - the program reads only what you put into it.

About free keys

The “free Hiddify keys” that fill search results are not a feature of the app but other people’s subscriptions put into public access. They work until the owner notices: hundreds of people share one server, speed drops, then the key stops opening. And most importantly - there is no way to check who runs that server and what they see. More about what users of free services actually pay with - in our breakdown of free versus paid VPNs.

Your own subscription takes a minute to set up - in the Telegram bot or in your account on this site, the first 7 days free.

Why you need this, briefly. An app like Hiddify encrypts the connection between your device and the server. On open Wi-Fi - in a cafe, an airport, a hotel - that closes your traffic off from strangers on the same network; at home your provider stops seeing which sites you open. We are responsible for the part where the servers themselves are needed: their speed, their stability, and the fact that we keep no logs - what that means and how it is verified.

How to set up Hiddify: the general order

It is the same on every system, only the details differ.

1. Install the app - from Google Play or from the project page on GitHub.
2. Copy the subscription link - the bot or your account shows it right after sign-up, with a “copy” button next to it.
3. Open Hiddify and add the subscription - with the plus button.
4. Choose “add from clipboard” - the app reads the link by itself and the server list appears. Adding by link or scanning a QR code work just as well.
5. Pick a server and press the connect button.
6. Allow the connection - the system asks for permission once in a separate window. Without it the connection will not come up.

A tip that saves you an evening: copy the link in full. Subscription links are long, and copying from a messenger easily drops the tail - a truncated link will not add.

How to tell which server to pick

In a good subscription the servers are labelled by purpose, not only by protocol. Ours look like this:

• ⚪ restricted-network servers - for when mobile internet has been cut back
• 🛡 resilient - if an ordinary connection does not come up: XHTTP primary, TCP backup
• ⚡ fast - for video and downloads: XHTTP primary, TCP backup
• 🎮 gaming, low ping - UDP

The same icons appear in the app itself, in the server list and in the hint above it - so you will not have to check the list against this table.

The resilient and fast ones usually come in two variants, a primary and a backup. If one does not work, you switch to the second - it takes two seconds. How the protocols differ from one another - in our protocol comparison.

Our servers are labelled exactly this way - you can see what each one is for without studying protocols. You can look at the list in your account after signing up.

Working modes: TUN and system proxy

Hiddify has two modes. TUN intercepts the traffic of every program on the device, the system proxy only that of programs that know how to work with it. If the connection is up but one particular app has no internet, switch to TUN.

This is the fork that most often produces “connected, but no internet”.

TUN is the default mode. The app creates a virtual network card in the system and intercepts the whole device’s traffic, other programs included. More reliable, works almost always.

System Proxy changes the proxy settings in the system instead. Easier to roll back, but some programs ignore it: they go online past the tunnel, and the person sees a live connection while one particular app does not work.

The practical conclusion: if something is not going through the tunnel, check whether proxy mode is on and switch to TUN.

Split routing: so that your bank and government services open directly

To make local sites open directly, outside the tunnel, turn on the switch for local sites in Hiddify’s configuration options. Then banks, government portals and other domestic services will stop seeing a foreign address and stop triggering anti-fraud.

This is a setting few people know about, and it solves a frequent problem.

Domestic services - banks, government portals, marketplaces - react badly to a login from a foreign address: anti-fraud triggers and the login fails. If all traffic goes through a foreign server, they start acting up.

In Hiddify this is cured with split routing: part of the traffic goes through the tunnel, part goes directly, past it.

• Local sites directly - a switch in the configuration options. Requests to domestic domains from the built-in list (search engines, social networks, government portals, banks) go past the tunnel, everything else goes through it.
• Per-app - on Android you can specify which programs go through the tunnel and which stay as they are. Handy for banking apps.

If you need the opposite - a local address, for example because you are abroad and need your bank and government portal - that is the reverse task, and it is solved by connecting to a Russian server. Russian servers are included in our subscription: banks and government services open just like they do at home.

Useful features people usually miss

Automatic pick of the fastest server. The subscription list has a latency check: the app polls the servers and puts the fastest one in place. It saves you trying them by hand.

Refreshing the subscription. The server list changes - the service adds nodes and retires them. To pull a fresh one, drag the list down or press the refresh button next to the subscription name. The subscription properties also have a scheduled auto-update - worth turning on once and forgetting about.

Which links Hiddify understands. Besides a subscription link the app accepts individual configurations: vless://, vmess://, trojan://, ss://, hy2://, tuic://. The difference is that a single config is one server, while a subscription pulls the whole list by itself and keeps it updated.

Hiddify on PC: where to download it and how to install it on Windows

Hiddify for a computer can only be downloaded from GitHub - there are no desktop versions in Google Play, and the project’s site does not always open from Russia. Under Windows the Releases section holds three files:

On launch Windows may show a blue window warning about an unknown publisher - that is how it greets any program from outside its own store. Installation continues through “More info” → “Run anyway”.

After that comes the general order: paste the subscription link, pick a server, allow the connection.

Which version is the latest. The newest one is always at the top of Releases - currently the fourth branch. If you have an older version installed, update it: the developers closed part of the old “timeout” complaints in exactly those newer builds.

Hiddify on Android: Google Play or APK

The easiest way is Google Play: updates arrive on their own. The publisher is UnboundTechCo, and the app has more than five million installs. If the publisher is someone else, it is a different program.

If Google Play does not work, the .apk file is on GitHub in the Releases section. There are several files there, meant for different processors. If you do not know which one you have, take the one with universal in its name: it fits everyone.

About the specifics of a mobile connection - battery and data use - there is a separate breakdown.

Hiddify on Mac and Linux

Here Hiddify compares well with many clients: builds for both systems exist.

Hiddify on iPhone: the app is not in the Russian App Store

Hiddify is not published in the Russian App Store - you cannot install it on an iPhone from a Russian account.

It exists in the stores of other countries, where it is called “Hiddify Proxy & VPN” and is free. The reason is that every App Store account has a country attached, and the store only shows what is allowed there.

People sometimes suggest installing it through TestFlight - Apple’s platform for test versions. The route exists but is unreliable: the test group is limited in places and is not always open, and an installed build eventually stops launching. As a main method it will not do.

What an iPhone owner should do. Take an app that the Russian store does have - INCY. It is free.

The subscription stays exactly the same: the link is not tied to an app. Nothing needs transferring or paying for again - there is a guide to setting up INCY. There the subscription transfers with one tap: you install the app, press a button in your account, and the server list is already there.

If you do not have a subscription yet, you can get one in the Telegram bot - the first 7 days free, and it works in INCY and on a computer straight away.

The “timeout” error in Hiddify: what to do

The word “timeout” in Hiddify most often does not mean the connection is broken. The app checks the link itself - it queries a control address and waits for an answer. No answer came, so it showed Timeout, even though the tunnel is up and sites open.

This is the most frequent complaint about the app, and it is usually diagnosed wrongly. In the project’s discussions people describe the same thing: Timeout on screen while the internet works. The first thing to do is check whether the internet actually works. Open any site. It opens - so the connection is there and the message can be ignored.

What helps if the message bothers you or the connection really will not come up:

Hiddify is not working: the other common causes

Nothing helped - write to support: we will advise you for your system and check whether the server answers. A general diagnosis across all symptoms is in why a VPN is not working.

Hiddify alternatives: what to use instead

Every client of this class is a window for one type of connection, and the subscription is shared: one link fits all of them.

On a computer and on Android the choice is free: there are breakdowns of Happ, INCY and v2RayTun, plus a roundup of all clients compared with each other. On an iPhone the choice comes down to INCY.

The practical conclusion: you do not have to pick a client forever. If one does not suit you, install another and paste the same link.

Hiddify on a router, a TV and other devices

The app itself works on phones and computers. But the subscription is the same one, and it can be used elsewhere too:

• A router - set up separately, and then every device at home goes through it, TV and set-top box included. Where to start and which routers fit - in the router guide.
• A TV - on Android TV it installs as an app, on Samsung and LG only through a router. The breakdown - VPN on a TV.
• The full list of where a connection can be installed at all - in the device guide.

Frequently asked questions

Is Hiddify free? Yes, the app itself is free and ad-free. You only pay for the service subscription that brings the servers.

How much does Hiddify cost and where do I buy it? The app itself is free and does not need buying - not in a store and not on third-party sites. You only pay for the service subscription that brings the servers. If a site offers to “buy Hiddify”, it is selling its own subscription under someone else’s name.

Where do I download Hiddify for PC? On the project page hiddify/hiddify-app on GitHub, the Releases section. Under Windows there are three files there - the ordinary installer, a portable version and a format for corporate machines. The breakdown is in the PC section above.

Why does Hiddify say “timeout” while the internet works? The program checks the link through a control address and, having waited in vain for an answer, shows this message - even when the tunnel is up. The fixes are in the timeout section.

Is Hiddify the same thing as Hiddify Next? Yes. The project was renamed: Hiddify Next is the former name. The old link forwards to the new one by itself.

Which is better - Hiddify or Happ? Both work with the same subscription, and the choice barely affects speed - the subscription determines that. The difference is in the details: Hiddify has more manual settings, Happ has a simpler first launch. On an iPhone the question falls away: neither is in the Russian store.

Can one subscription be used on a phone and a computer? Yes. The link is not tied to an app: phone, computer, TV and router all work from the same one.

Which protocols does Hiddify support? Sing-box, X-ray, TUIC, Hysteria, Reality, Trojan, SSH and others - the app is built on several engines at once. What those names mean - in a detailed VLESS breakdown. You do not need to know them to set it up: the right one is picked automatically from the subscription link.

How do I make local sites open directly? Turn on the switch for local sites in the configuration options: requests to domestic domains will go past the tunnel. The breakdown is in the split routing section.

Which should I choose - TUN or system proxy? TUN, if you are unsure: it intercepts the traffic of every program. The system proxy is easier to roll back, but some apps ignore it.

Is Hiddify safe to use? The app’s code is open, and that is its strong side. But safety depends not on it but on whose subscription you pasted into it: all the traffic goes through a server owned by a service. What the connection provider sees in the process - in our breakdown of logs and the no-logs policy.

In summary

The order with Hiddify is always the same: install it, paste the subscription link, pick a server.

Three things worth remembering:

Download only from Google Play or GitHub - hiddify/hiddify-app. There are many sites with similar names, and some of them sell their own subscriptions while posing as the project.

“Timeout” is usually not a fault. First check whether sites open: the connection is normally there.

Hiddify cannot be installed on an iPhone - it is not in the Russian store. The subscription does not suffer from that: it works in other apps too.

And in general: a client app and a subscription for it are there to protect the connection - to encrypt the traffic and keep it private. Speed and stability depend on the servers behind the subscription, not on which of the apps you picked.

---

A subscription is set up in the Telegram bot or in your account on this site - it works in every app listed here at once, the first 7 days free, then from 8 roubles a day.