Is it safe to use ZeroTier?

We've been using ZeroTier since 2025.

We have about 25-30 servers across three data centers and hundreds of users. We've been very happy with the service and it works quite well for us.

The main issue we've had is with connection dropping. This happens when one of the edge servers on the public internet has a hardware or software fault, causing the client to lose connection. The connection drops on the server for 1-2 seconds, then the client reconnects and all traffic continues.

In our experience, this is a random issue that happens once or twice a week. We only noticed it because we have a monitoring solution which tells us when a server goes down.

After investigation, we discovered that this was actually a feature of ZeroTier and it's something they actively encourage. Here's the quote from their FA"Why does ZeroTier disconnect my clients from a public IP? When you are behind a NAT, you can't access the Internet directly. Your traffic will be routed through your ISP's network. When your clients connect to your server, they don't directly talk to the Internet. They talk to your router and the router talks to your ISP. Your ISP forwards the traffic to the destination. The ZeroTier client needs to know the IP address of the public side of your router, which is most likely your ISP's network IP address. This is how your ISP's network knows that the traffic is coming from you, even though the traffic doesn't leave your network.

To make things simple, your ISP gives your public IP to you, your ZeroTier clients connect to your public IP, and your ZeroTier server connects to your internal network address. It's that simple. The ZeroTier server can then forward the traffic to the internal network, and the ZeroTier client forwards the traffic back to your ISP, which will send it to the destination IP."

We believe this is a good feature. We're able to use public facing servers with zero hassle. But, it's not as simple as that.

The main issue is that we have to keep a list of public IP addresses. We also have to manually update it when new IP addresses come online.

What are the benefits of ZeroTier?

We think it's fairly straightforward, but let's break it down: ZeroTier is free software.

We've never asked for any money to keep the server alive, and we never will. We know that you're an entrepreneur, and so we're doing everything possible to make sure that this software is as easy to deploy as possible.

ZeroTier is open source. You are a contributor to the technology you use, and your contributions help push the project forward. If you're not sure how to contribute, take a look at our development forum.

ZeroTier is based on FreeBSD. We love FreeBSD, and always have. We've been using FreeBSD servers since we first started building the zero network, and we plan to do the same for long into the future. With the exception of a few small changes, it will always be a very fast, reliable, and stable operating system.

ZeroTier is free from commercial interests. This is not a company selling us out or advertising our sponsors in our project. We're developing the software that runs the server in our spare time, and we don't charge any money for the server. Instead, we've found other ways to support our work, such as advertising sponsorships, community initiatives, and the sale of ZeroTier services (see below).

ZeroTier is reliable. We've spent years building the architecture and codebase of ZeroTier, and we're always watching for places where the system can be improved. When we do find something that needs fixing, we fix it quickly. Over time, we'll continue to improve the stability of our server, and our infrastructure will become more and more robust.

If we ever disappear from the internet, you'll be able to read the ZeroTier source code. In case of emergency, or if there's no one to care for ZeroTier, your work is important.

When we first started thinking about adding a web-based control panel, we needed a solution that could scale across multiple servers. That meant that any new features we added would be open source. As a result, we built our entire ZeroTier control panel around open source technology.

What are the risks of ZeroTier?

In case of an attack or misuse of your ZeroTier installation, we cannot be held responsible for any damages or loss of data that you may suffer.

The safety and privacy of our users is always our top priority.

Our users' private and sensitive data are never stored in our servers and we do not use any of our services for advertising purposes. All of our services are offered on a free basis to our users, however, if you wish to use our services without any restrictions, then you must create a paid account. We may, from time to time, change our terms and conditions and/or our Privacy Policy. All changes will become effective immediately upon posting. It is your responsibility to periodically review these documents, including the privacy policy, to be aware of any changes. Your continued use of the Services following the posting of changes will mean you accept and agree to be bound by those changes. If you object to any of the provisions of these terms and conditions, you should cease using our Services.

While we strive to provide an exceptional experience for our users, there may be times when we must limit access to our Services or parts thereof due to malicious, fraudulent, or illegal activities. We reserve the right to investigate these activities and take appropriate action.

In order to access certain features of the Services, we may request information from you, such as your name, email address, date of birth, and gender. This information will be used to improve your experience with the Services and to identify you as a user of the Services. You can always choose not to provide the requested information to us at any time, but doing so may make it more difficult to use certain features of the Services.

We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time, at which point we will post those changes on this page. By using the Services after those changes have been posted, you agree to be bound by the updated Privacy Policy. We recommend that you periodically review the Privacy Policy to familiarize yourself with the changes made to it.

Our services are also supported by third parties, such as Google Analytics and Google Maps, which provide analytics services and map services, respectively.