Widgets and Control Center

iOS iPadOS

MeowX offers a Home Screen widget in two sizes and a Control Center toggle. The buttons on them work directly from the widget: connecting, disconnecting or changing the mode does not open the app.

Before you start

Connect once from inside the app first. iOS only lets the widget and Control Center start MeowX’s VPN after its configuration has been installed (the “Add VPN configurations” prompt on first connect). Until then, the widget’s power button is just an icon that opens the app, and the medium widget says “Connect once in the app first”.

Home Screen widget

Adding it:

1. Touch and hold an empty area of the Home Screen until the icons jiggle, then tap Edit › Add Widget (or + on older iOS versions).
2. Search for MeowX. The widget is described as “Connection toggle, outbound mode, speed and subscription usage”.
3. Choose Small or Medium and tap Add Widget.

The widget uses the same design as the Home tab’s connection card: pink when connected, neutral when not.

Element	Small	Medium
Status (“Connected” / “Not connected”)	Yes	Yes, with “Rule mode · Protected” (or “Not protected”) and the running time while connected
Power button (top right)	Yes	Yes
Upload and download speed	Yes	Yes
Subscription usage	A ring showing the percentage used (only if your plan has a quota)	Used / total text with a thin bar, or “No subscription imported”
Rule / Global / Direct switch	Yes	Yes

Power button: connects if MeowX is disconnected, disconnects if it is connected. The widget redraws with the new state when the operation finishes.

Mode switch: changes the outbound mode just like the switch in the app. If MeowX is connected, the change applies immediately; either way it is saved for the next connection. When you next open the app, it picks up the change.

Note

iOS decides how often widgets redraw, so the speed numbers on the widget are a snapshot of the last update, not a live meter. MeowX updates the widget when the connection state or mode changes and while the app’s Home tab is open. If your plan has an expiry date, the widget also refreshes once a day at midnight so the remaining days stay correct.

The widget supports the tinted and clear Home Screen appearances: colors are flattened and the accent parts follow the system tint.

Control Center toggle

iOS 18+

On iOS 18 and later, MeowX provides a Control Center control called MeowX Proxy (“Toggle the proxy with one tap”).

1. Open Control Center and tap + (top left), then Add a Control.
2. Search for MeowX and add MeowX Proxy.

Tap it to connect or disconnect. Its label shows Connected or Not connected, with the MeowX cat silhouette as the icon. You can also assign the same control to the Lock Screen or, on supported iPhones, the Action button.

Wi-Fi automation

If you want MeowX to connect or disconnect by itself depending on the network, rather than tapping a widget, see Wi-Fi automation. On iPhone and iPad it works even when the app is not running.

Mac

There are no widgets on the Mac. The menu bar icon serves the same purpose: click it to open the panel and connect with the power button. See Mac menu bar app.