diff --git a/docs/design/fips-ipv6-adapter.md b/docs/design/fips-ipv6-adapter.md
index 383559a..06ad35a 100644
--- a/docs/design/fips-ipv6-adapter.md
+++ b/docs/design/fips-ipv6-adapter.md
@@ -302,6 +302,34 @@ alternative — running under a dedicated unprivileged service
 account with the capability granted on the binary — see
 [../how-to/run-as-unprivileged-user.md](../how-to/run-as-unprivileged-user.md).
 
+### App-Owned TUN (embedded hosts)
+
+On platforms where FIPS is embedded rather than run as a daemon — notably
+Android, where the `VpnService` owns the TUN fd and the app has no
+`CAP_NET_ADMIN` — FIPS does not create `fips0` itself. Instead the embedder owns
+the fd and exchanges IPv6 packet bytes with FIPS over channels.
+
+`Node::enable_app_owned_tun()` sets this up. It is called after `Node::new` and
+before `start()` (and before the node is moved into a background task), mirroring
+`control_read_handle()`, and returns two app-side channel ends:
+
+- **app → mesh** — the embedder pushes IPv6 packets read from its fd into
+  `app_outbound_tx`. These are drained by `run_rx_loop` into `handle_tun_outbound`
+  and routed exactly as the Reader Thread's output would be.
+- **mesh → app** — inbound mesh traffic on port 256 is reconstructed and written
+  to the node's `tun_tx` (the same sink the Writer Thread reads); the embedder
+  pulls from `app_inbound_rx` and writes to its fd.
+
+With the channels installed, `start()` skips system-TUN creation (it gates on
+`tun_tx` being unset), so FIPS does no `CAP_NET_ADMIN` operations.
+
+Because packets enter via `app_outbound_tx` rather than the Reader Thread, they
+**bypass `handle_tun_packet`** — the `fd00::/8` destination filter, the ICMPv6
+Destination Unreachable for off-mesh dests (see [Reader Thread](#reader-thread)),
+and the [TUN-Side TCP MSS Clamping](#tun-side-tcp-mss-clamping). The embedder is
+therefore responsible for routing only `fd00::/8` to its TUN (so only mesh-bound
+packets arrive) and for clamping TCP MSS on outbound SYNs.
+
 ## Implementation Status
 
 | Feature | Status |
diff --git a/src/node/lifecycle.rs b/src/node/lifecycle.rs
index be9a4d5..bd577a9 100644
--- a/src/node/lifecycle.rs
+++ b/src/node/lifecycle.rs
@@ -1201,8 +1201,10 @@ impl Node {
         // This allows handshake messages to be sent before we start accepting packets
         self.initiate_peer_connections().await;
 
-        // Initialize TUN interface last, after transports and peers are ready
-        if self.config().tun.enabled {
+        // Initialize TUN interface last, after transports and peers are ready.
+        // Skip when the TUN is app-owned (the embedder pre-set `tun_tx` via
+        // `enable_app_owned_tun`) — then FIPS does no system-TUN ops.
+        if self.config().tun.enabled && self.tun_tx.is_none() {
             let address = *self.identity().address();
             match TunDevice::create(&self.config().tun, address).await {
                 Ok(device) => {
diff --git a/src/node/mod.rs b/src/node/mod.rs
index 3098cd9..320ecb9 100644
--- a/src/node/mod.rs
+++ b/src/node/mod.rs
@@ -65,7 +65,7 @@ use crate::transport::{
 use crate::tree::TreeState;
 use crate::upper::hosts::HostMap;
 use crate::upper::icmp_rate_limit::IcmpRateLimiter;
-use crate::upper::tun::{TunError, TunOutboundRx, TunState, TunTx};
+use crate::upper::tun::{TunError, TunOutboundRx, TunOutboundTx, TunState, TunTx};
 use crate::utils::index::IndexAllocator;
 use crate::{Config, ConfigError, Identity, IdentityError, NodeAddr, PeerIdentity};
 use rand::Rng;
@@ -2856,6 +2856,37 @@ impl Node {
         self.tun_tx.as_ref()
     }
 
+    /// Set up an **app-owned TUN**: rather than FIPS creating a system TUN
+    /// device, the embedder (e.g. an Android `VpnService`) owns the fd and
+    /// exchanges IPv6 packet bytes with FIPS over the returned channels. Call
+    /// this after [`Node::new`] and **before** [`Self::start`] — and before
+    /// moving the node into a background task — exactly like
+    /// [`Self::control_read_handle`].
+    ///
+    /// Returns `(app_outbound_tx, app_inbound_rx)`:
+    /// - push IPv6 packets read from the app's TUN fd into `app_outbound_tx`
+    ///   (app → mesh); FIPS routes them to the destination node.
+    /// - pull IPv6 packets destined for the app's TUN fd from `app_inbound_rx`
+    ///   (mesh → app) and write them to the fd (`recv_timeout` for clean stop).
+    ///
+    /// With this set, [`Self::start`] skips system-TUN creation (it gates on
+    /// `tun_tx` being unset). Packets pushed into `app_outbound_tx` bypass the
+    /// system-TUN reader's `handle_tun_packet`, so the embedder must do what that
+    /// path otherwise would: push only `fd::/8`-destined IPv6 packets — FIPS no
+    /// longer filters the destination or emits ICMPv6 unreachable for off-mesh
+    /// dests — and clamp TCP MSS on outbound SYNs.
+    pub fn enable_app_owned_tun(&mut self) -> (TunOutboundTx, std::sync::mpsc::Receiver<Vec<u8>>) {
+        let tun_channel_size = self.config().node.buffers.tun_channel;
+        // app → mesh: the app pushes; `run_rx_loop` drains `tun_outbound_rx`.
+        let (outbound_tx, outbound_rx) = tokio::sync::mpsc::channel(tun_channel_size);
+        // mesh → app: the node writes inbound packets to `tun_tx`; the app pulls.
+        let (tun_tx, tun_rx) = std::sync::mpsc::channel();
+        self.tun_tx = Some(tun_tx);
+        self.tun_outbound_rx = Some(outbound_rx);
+        self.tun_state = TunState::Active;
+        (outbound_tx, tun_rx)
+    }
+
     // === Sending ===
 
     /// Encrypt and send a link-layer message to an authenticated peer.
diff --git a/src/node/tests/unit.rs b/src/node/tests/unit.rs
index b2f78ee..3a8e623 100644
--- a/src/node/tests/unit.rs
+++ b/src/node/tests/unit.rs
@@ -1995,3 +1995,58 @@ async fn handle_msg1_admits_existing_peer_at_cap() {
         "rate limiter must rebalance after the (bypass-admitted) handler returns"
     );
 }
+
+/// App-owned TUN seam: `enable_app_owned_tun` wires the embedder's packet
+/// channels (an Android `VpnService` owns the fd) and marks the TUN active so
+/// `start()` skips system-TUN creation.
+#[test]
+fn app_owned_tun_seam_wires_channels() {
+    let mut config = crate::Config::new();
+    config.tun.enabled = true;
+    let mut node = make_node_with(config);
+
+    let (outbound_tx, tun_rx) = node.enable_app_owned_tun();
+
+    // TUN is active and the inbound (mesh→app) sender is installed, so `start()`
+    // will skip `TunDevice::create` (it gates on `tun_tx.is_none()`).
+    assert_eq!(node.tun_state(), crate::upper::tun::TunState::Active);
+    assert!(node.tun_tx().is_some(), "inbound sender installed");
+
+    // mesh → app: a packet the node delivers to its `tun_tx` reaches the app's rx.
+    let pkt = vec![0x60u8, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0];
+    node.tun_tx().unwrap().send(pkt.clone()).unwrap();
+    assert_eq!(
+        tun_rx
+            .recv_timeout(std::time::Duration::from_millis(200))
+            .unwrap(),
+        pkt,
+        "the app pulls the same bytes the node wrote",
+    );
+
+    // app → mesh: the returned sender is live (its matching rx is held by the node
+    // and drained by `run_rx_loop` → `handle_tun_outbound`).
+    assert!(outbound_tx.try_send(vec![0x60]).is_ok());
+}
+
+/// With an app-owned TUN configured, `start()` must NOT create a system TUN
+/// device: it leaves `tun_name` unset (a real device records its interface name)
+/// and keeps the TUN `Active` with the app-owned channels.
+#[tokio::test]
+async fn start_skips_system_tun_when_app_owned() {
+    let mut config = crate::Config::new();
+    config.tun.enabled = true;
+    let mut node = make_node_with(config);
+
+    let (_outbound_tx, _tun_rx) = node.enable_app_owned_tun();
+    node.start().await.unwrap();
+
+    // No system device was created (that path records the interface name); the
+    // app-owned TUN stayed active.
+    assert!(
+        node.tun_name().is_none(),
+        "app-owned TUN must not create a named system device",
+    );
+    assert_eq!(node.tun_state(), crate::upper::tun::TunState::Active);
+
+    node.stop().await.unwrap();
+}