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XHTTP in China and Iran: why one protocol behaves so differently

According to one week of HopFox VPN data from October 30 to November 5, 2026, XHTTP connected in 89% of attempts in China and 62% in Iran. The article says the difference cannot be attributed to censorship alone; international connectivity, routes and server placement may also contribute. China’s results were comparable to Japan and Hong Kong, while Iran’s were comparable to Germany and the United States on the same network, but Iran showed more silent tunnels and cases where no server responded.

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XHTTP in China and Iran: why one protocol behaves so differently

According to one week of HopFox VPN data from October 30 to November 5, 2026, XHTTP connected in 89% of attempts in China and 62% in Iran. The article says the difference cannot be attributed to censorship alone; international connectivity, routes and server placement may also contribute. China’s results were comparable to Japan and Hong Kong, while Iran’s were comparable to Germany and the United States on the same network, but Iran showed more silent tunnels and cases where no server responded.