Using a VPN is one of the most effective ways to mask your public IP address, but it is not foolproof. The three most common failure modes are DNS leaks, WebRTC leaks, and IPv6 leaks — and all three can expose your real network identity even while the VPN shows as connected.
A DNS leak happens when your device sends DNS queries through your normal ISP resolver instead of routing them through the VPN tunnel. Websites you visit may not see your IP directly, but the DNS resolver used to reach them still can. This is especially common on Windows when the OS falls back to the default system resolver. You can test this instantly with our DNS leak test.
A WebRTC leak happens in the browser. The WebRTC protocol — used for video calls, peer-to-peer sharing, and some browser extensions — makes STUN requests to discover your local and public IP addresses. Those requests can bypass the VPN tunnel entirely and expose your real IP to any site running WebRTC code. Check your browser with our WebRTC leak test.
An IPv6 leak occurs when a VPN tunnels only IPv4 traffic but your network also has a native IPv6 connection. Sites that support IPv6 can still see your real IPv6 address, which belongs to your ISP, not your VPN provider. Run our IPv6 leak test to check whether your setup is affected.
Seeing a VPN status indicator as “connected” is not the same as confirming that your traffic is actually protected. The right way to verify is to compare your visible IP, DNS resolver, and browser behavior before and after connecting — and make sure all three tell the same story.
Start with the homepage IP checkerbefore you connect. Note your public IP address, your ISP, and your ASN. Then connect your VPN and reload the page. Your visible IP should change to one that belongs to your VPN provider. Your ISP and ASN should shift to the VPN company's network, not your home provider.
Next, run the DNS leak test. Only your VPN provider's resolvers should appear — not your ISP's servers. Then run the WebRTC leak test in each browser you use. If your real IP appears anywhere in the WebRTC results, your browser is leaking outside the tunnel. Finally, use the ASN lookup tool to confirm that the ASN shown belongs to your VPN provider and not your ISP. When all four checks agree, your connection is properly secured.
Public Wi-Fi networks at airports, coffee shops, hotels, and libraries are among the highest-risk environments for your internet security. These networks are often unencrypted, and in many cases the network operator — or anyone else connected to the same access point — can observe your traffic using a packet capture tool. Attacks such as ARP spoofing, rogue access points, and SSL-stripping are common on public networks and require no advanced equipment to execute.
The single most effective protection on public Wi-Fi is a VPN that encrypts all of your traffic before it leaves your device. Without a VPN, even HTTPS connections can be partially compromised if an attacker is positioned between you and the network gateway. Avoid accessing banking, email, or any account with sensitive data on a public network unless a VPN is active and verified.
Additional steps: disable automatic Wi-Fi connections in your device settings to prevent connecting to rogue access points with familiar-looking names. Enable your device's firewall. Use a browser that blocks mixed content and enforces HTTPS. If you regularly use public networks, consider a mobile hotspot as a safer alternative to shared access points.
Your public IP address is shared with every website, API, and service you connect to. You cannot prevent this — it is how the internet works. What you can control is how much additional context that IP reveals, and how long it stays associated with your identity.
IP geolocation can place you within roughly 25–50 miles of your actual location in most cases, and sometimes closer in dense urban areas. Combined with browser fingerprinting, cookies, and login data, your IP becomes part of a persistent profile. Using a VPN replaces your real IP with one that belongs to the VPN provider, which reduces the value of IP-based profiling. However, a VPN does not eliminate fingerprinting or cookie-based tracking on its own.
You can check your current IP, ASN, and whether your connection is flagged as a VPN or proxy using our proxy check tool and IP blacklist check. Understanding what is visible about your connection is the first step toward deciding what to protect and how. Visit our guide on what someone can do with your IP address for a realistic picture of the actual risk.
