The software bypasses Internet censorship and firewalls using an HTTP proxy server, and employs encryption protocols for privacy.

The software was developed by two different groups of Falun Gong practitioners at the same time, one starting in the US in 2002 by expatriate Chinese.

[5] Similar traffic spikes occurred during times of unrest in other regions, such as Tibet and Burma during the Saffron Revolution.

Originally, funding was provided through the U.S. State Department as well as the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which administered Voice of America and Radio Free Asia.

[4] UltraSurf is designed primarily as an anti-censorship tool but also offers privacy protections in the form of industry standard encryption, with an added layer of obfuscation built in.

[9] According to Wired magazine: "That's partly because their network lacks the bandwidth to accommodate so much data-heavy traffic, but also because Falun Gong frowns on erotica.

"[2] Additionally, the Falun Gong criticism website facts.org.cn, alleged to be operated by the Chinese government, is also unreachable through UltraSurf.

In particular, its developers have been criticized by proponents of open-source software for not allowing peer review of the tool's design, except at the discretion of its creators.

[4] In an April 2012 report, Appelbaum further criticized UltraSurf for its use of internal content filtering (including blocking pornographic websites), and for its willingness to comply with subpoenas from U.S. law enforcement officials.

[13] A top-secret NSA presentation revealed as part of the 2013 global surveillance disclosures dismisses this response by UltraSurf as "all talk and no show".