Does A Vpn Hide Your Ip Address
What does a VPN hide? | NortonLifeLock
A virtual private network (VPN) can hide a user’s internal protocol address (IP address) and block their location and browser history, allowing them to share and receive information on public internet networks more privately.
Whether you’re searching something online or communicating via social media, you’re leaving digital footprints in the form of your browsing history, cookies, and cached data.
Your Internet Service Provider (ISP), the government, and other third parties can track what you search, visit, and download.
Even if you use a private browsing mode, your IP address can still be collected.
When you download and enable a VPN prior to browsing, a VPN can offer online privacy and increased security by helping hide your online identity and encrypting your traffic. Hackers and third parties will only be able to see the IP address of the remote VPN. This prevents them from accessing your location, browser history, or the personal information you may have sent or received during that browsing session.
Here are the seven main things that a VPN hides:
1. Search History
You can clear your cookies and search history from your browser. But chances are your ISP has recorded the websites that you’ve visited. VPNs can hide your search history and other browsing activity, like search terms, links clicked, and websites visited, as well as masking your IP address.
Try Norton 360 FREE 30-Day Trial* – Includes Norton Secure VPN
30 days of FREE* comprehensive antivirus, device security and online privacy with Norton Secure VPN.
Join today. Cancel anytime.
*Terms Apply
Can you truly remove your search history?
No. You’re removing the file references from your directories, but your operating system won’t simultaneously erase this data. It only moves the information to a special area on your Mac or PC’s hard drive.
If you use a VPN each time you browse, third parties will only be able to see the IP address of the remote VPN. This disables them from pinpointing your location, ISP and, potentially, other personal information.
2. IP Address
Your IP address identifies your device on the Internet or a local network. It’s the key data that connects you to your location, ISP, and web search history.
IP addresses can share sensitive information about you that includes your physical location such as your city, state, ZIP code, and country. It can trace back to your home ISP, which could reveal your name, home address, phone number, and credit card numbers.
Instead of sending information directly from your IP address, the VPN server’s IP address is associated with your activity.
For example, if your VPN service provider has servers around the world, you could appear to be connecting to the internet from a different country.
3. Medical Diagnosis and Health Conditions
Medical providers often operate through private client portals. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) has set standards in the exchange of protected health information (PHI). This is the diagnosis, procedures, and counsel between doctors, clients and medical facilities.
HIPPA requires healthcare facilities to operate on private networks. These secured portals encrypt your medical information from outside parties. VPN networks allow medical professionals and patients to safely access confidential medical information untampered.
4. Travel accommodations
Travel and airline websites associate the information that you’re researching with your IP address. When you visit online travel booking websites multiple times to find better deals, a cookie has likely already locked into a price.
A cookie is data sent from a user’s computer to a website. They can identify your past travel searches, online profiles, all the way to your home address. Any action like clicking on a link can trigger an “event. ” Marketers use analytics tracking tools to track website traffic and user behavior. It only takes a short amount of time for advertisers to bombard you with retargeting ads.
VPNs can block tracking technologies, allowing you to search travel websites anonymously and avoiding advertisers altogether.
5. Geolocation
We already mentioned that your IP address can identify your geolocation. Browsers and websites use this information to map web traffic from different cities, states, and countries.
For example, when you use Google Maps, you must enable your phone to detect your location. Websites use the same technology.
One side benefit of using a VPN is known as geo-spoofing. This means a VPN “fools” websites and other online services into thinking you’re in one location when you’re really in another.
This could provide access to geo-restricted services or help save money while doing online shopping. But remember to always check your service agreement rules and observe government laws and regulations.
6. Personally identifiable material
A VPN can hide your online identity by masking your IP address. It encrypts your location and the data you send and receive, helping protect your personal identifiable information (PII). This data can come in the form of your bank information, as well as Social Security and driver’s license numbers. If a hacker gains access to your computer, your PII is could be vulnerable via audio files, messages, and passwords.
Even secure websites can become vulnerable to cyber-attacks. Using a VPN network can increase your protection when you go online, from hackers and cyber thieves.
7. Torrenting
BitTorrents (torrents) are metadata files and folders that are shared and downloaded between users on a network. This gives users access to movies, music, and other forms of media content.
Though torrenting isn’t illegal, downloading copyrighted material like movies or songs is a violation. Since your ISP can track your activity, so can the government. Using a torrenting service without a VPN can sometimes lead to warning letters or even hefty fines from the government.
Even if performed legally, torrenting can be dangerous. Downloading unknown files can result in you downloading malware. These viruses can infect your computer and corrupt your files. VPNs can prevent online peers from seeing your IP address, which could help prevent hackers from singling you out.
How to choose a VPN
When choosing a VPN, consider your needs for the device. User-friendliness, speed, secure encryption, and price are all important factors to examine. You also want reliable customer service, should anything out of the ordinary occur.
Consider using a secure VPN network that provides powerful protection and is capable of connecting other devices in your home. Research online reviews, but be careful of sites that promote affiliate websites. You can also talk to your tech-savvy friends and get their insight on recommended products.
Most importantly, when purchasing a VPN, it’s best to buy from a software company that you trust. So, no matter where you are, you can search the internet knowing that your connections are safer.
Editorial note: Our articles provide educational information for you. NortonLifeLock offerings may not cover or protect against every type of crime, fraud, or threat we write about. Our goal is to increase awareness about cyber safety. Please review complete Terms during enrollment or setup. Remember that no one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime, and that LifeLock does not monitor all transactions at all businesses.
Copyright © 2021 NortonLifeLock Inc. All rights reserved. NortonLifeLock, the NortonLifeLock Logo, the Checkmark Logo, Norton, LifeLock, and the LockMan Logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of NortonLifeLock Inc. or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Firefox is a trademark of Mozilla Foundation. Android, Google Chrome, Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google, LLC. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple and the Apple logo are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U. S. and other countries. App Store is a service mark of Apple Inc. Alexa and all related logos are trademarks of, Inc. or its affiliates. Microsoft and the Window logo are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U. The Android robot is reproduced or modified from work created and shared by Google and used according to terms described in the Creative Commons 3. 0 Attribution License. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.
No one can prevent all identity theft or cybercrime. Not all products, services and features are available on all devices or operating systems. System requirement information on
*Important Subscription, Pricing and Offer Details:
The price quoted today may include an introductory offer. After that, your membership will automatically renew and be billed at the applicable monthly or annual renewal price found here.
You can cancel your subscription at or by contacting Member Services & Support. For more details, please visit the Refund Policy.
Your subscription may include product, service and /or protection updates and features may be added, modified or removed subject to the acceptance of the Customer Agreement.
The number of supported devices allowed under your plan are primarily for personal or household use only. Not for commercial use. If you have issues adding a device, please contact Member Services & Support.
§ Dark Web Monitoring in Norton 360 plans defaults to monitor your email address only. Please login to the portal to review if you can add additional information for monitoring purposes.
Do VPNs Hide Search & Browsing History? – Security.org
Can you Hide Browsing History
Hiding from ISPs
Hiding from Router
Hiding from Google
How to Hide
What Else it Hides
We’ve all looked up pretty embarrassing stuff online, like “how to get a perfectly toned set of abs in two days. ” No? Just us? OK, then. Still, our browsing history is something we all want to keep private, which is why many turn to VPNs. But are VPNs really that effective in hiding browsing histories? Keep on reading to find the answer.
VyprVPN – Connections per app
Can VPNs Hide My Browsing History?
The short answer is yes, VPNs can hide your browsing history, but only to a certain extent. To better understand what that means, let’s look at what happens when you browse the internet using a VPN.
ExpressVPN is the #1 Way to Hide Your Browsing History
How Browsing With VPNs Works
When you’re browsing without a VPN, your internet traffic passes through your router and internet service provider (ISP) before reaching the destination website. All three checkpoints (router, ISP, website) can see the traffic coming from your computer.
A VPN adds encryption and a VPN server to the process. Here’s how it goes:
The VPN encrypts your internet traffic before it leaves your computer.
The encrypted traffic passes through your router and ISP, but because it’s encrypted, neither of them can see its content.
The VPN server decrypts the traffic and then sends it to the destination website, making it appear as though the traffic came from the server’s IP address instead of yours.
Can VPNs See My Browsing History?
Since the VPN server is the one that decrypts the encrypted traffic, it can see its contents. The more important question now is, “does it log your browsing history? ” Many VPN companies promise not to keep logs, but having tested dozens of VPNs, we know that’s not always the case. VPNs will log at least some types of data, so before choosing a VPN, you should read the companies’ privacy policies to learn:
What they log
How they secure your data
What they do with it
Our review of the best VPNs can give you a quick overview of the privacy policies of the top VPNs.
NordVPN App
Word of Advice: In theory, all VPNs can see your online traffic when you connect to their VPN service. That’s why you should choose the VPN that you can trust the most based on its privacy policy and jurisdiction.
Do VPNs Hide My Browsing History From ISPs?
VPNs encrypt all internet traffic, effectively hiding your browsing history from your ISP. However, that doesn’t mean the ISP is blind to your activities. They may be able to tell that you’re connected to a VPN and for how long, based on the fact that the encrypted traffic is headed to an IP address of a VPN server. They can also see the size of incoming and outgoing traffic, but the important thing is that they can’t see the content. If your sole purpose is to hide your browsing history from your ISP, a VPN will do the trick.
Why Hide Your Browsing History From ISPs?
The answer is simple: ISPs can do all kinds of shady stuff to our data. They can use it to target us with ads, sell it to third parties, or turn it over to the government. 1 What’s worse is that, because ISPs can store our online activity, hackers can breach their databases to obtain the data of millions of users. These kinds of attacks have happened before. While ISPs are doing what they can to prevent future breaches, there’s no guarantee that they won’t happen again.
AVG VPN on Mac On App
Do VPNs Hide My Browsing History From A Router?
Just like with ISPs, VPNs encrypt the internet traffic that passes through the router. Even those with network-level access can’t see what you’re doing online. VPNs also let you bypass your router’s firewall, allowing access to websites that your router has blocked. However, VPNs use certain transport protocols and ports when transmitting data. Network administrators can monitor these ports to check if anyone within the network is using a VPN. For instance, VPNs that use the IPsec protocol commonly use the UDP port 500, so network administrators can block this port to stop VPN traffic. 2
How To Hide Your Browsing History From Your Employer
Sometimes, employers use their access to the router to see what their employees do online. If you don’t want to be tracked, there’s an easy fix: Get a VPN — if VPNs are allowed in your office, that is. As we mentioned above, there are ways to detect a VPN in a network, such as by monitoring networking ports, so you could get into trouble if VPNs are not allowed.
Another solution, which works even if VPNs are not allowed in your office, is to use your mobile data to browse. Employers can track what you’re doing over the office network, but not when you’re on mobile data. Of course, you could get in trouble for being on your phone, but that’s another story.
Do VPNs Hide My Browsing History From Google?
Yes, VPNs hide your browsing history from Google, but only partially. Google doesn’t see your real IP address when you’re connected to a VPN, so personalized search results tied to your IP address will not appear. However, that’s not the only way Google identifies users. For instance, your search history is tied to your Google account, so if your browser is logged on, Google can still see your browsing history. Google also uses complex algorithms and techniques to identify its users, whether for advertising, analytics, or personalizing search results. 3 With these algorithms, it’s still possible for Google to identify you based on your search patterns, timing, and other metrics.
Did You Know: While most internet users perform searches through Google, there are more privacy-focused search engines that don’t collect as much data as Google, such as the DuckDuckGo, Ecosia, and Tor (Onion) search engines. Consider using those if you want more privacy.
Does Private Browsing Help?
Private browsing goes by many names, depending on the browser type:
Chrome: Incognito
Safari: Private Browsing
Internet Explorer / Edge: InPrivate
Firefox: Private Window
Opera: Private Mode
Basically, private browsing prevents your browser from storing local data like cookies, trackers, search history, and browsing history. What it doesn’t do is hide your internet activity from your ISP, router, and websites. So, while private browsing helps increase your privacy, we recommend using it with a VPN.
Do VPNs Hide My Search History?
Your search history, as in the websites you’ve visited and your previous search queries, is stored locally in your browser. Anyone who can access your computer can see your search history, and there’s nothing a VPN can do about that. Therefore, if you want to hide your search history, the best solutions are to clear your browser’s history manually and to use private browsing.
Bitdefender VPN on Mac App – Not Connected
How To Hide Your Browsing History
While VPNs help hide your browsing history, there are things you can do yourself to take matters into your own hands.
Hide Your Browsing History
Browse privately. Private browsing keeps your browser from remembering your sessions, so it’s great for hiding your browsing history from roommates or anyone who can access your physical devices.
Cover your tracks. Manually deleting your search and browsing history from your browser is another way to prevent tracking by people with physical access to your devices.
Change search engines. Privacy-focused search engines, such as DuckDuckGo, collect less data than Google, so they’re better suited for privacy-minded users. 4
Remove trackers. Removing local logs such as cookies makes it harder for websites and search engines to identify you.
Change your DNS settings. Websites can use DNS requests to see which websites you’ve accessed. To avoid that, change your DNS server from the ISP’s default server to a public DNS server like Google Public DNS. 5
Use HTTPS Everywhere. Many websites are still not on HTTPS, which means they’re less secure. 6 HTTPS Everywhere is a browser extension that automatically switches HTTP websites to HTTPS, hence the name.
How To Test Your Online Security
It also helps to self-assess your online security every now and then to find out which areas need improvement. We’ve designed an online security quiz that will help you do just that. That test will help you assess your:
Password management
Browsing habits
Social media privacy
Online transaction security
Virus protection
What Else Does a Good VPN Hide?
If you’re looking for a good VPN to use, you should choose one that hides more than just your browsing history. Here are a few other things a good VPN should hide:
Browsing History
Just to recap what we discussed above, VPNs hide your browsing history from your router, ISP, and search engine by encrypting your internet traffic. The encryption takes place before the data leaves your device, and only the VPN server has the decryption key. Neither your router, ISP, or employers will see what you’re doing online.
IP Address
A VPN changes your IP address to a VPN server’s IP address. As a result, the VPN effectively hides your location and protects your personal information from hackers and malicious websites. There are other benefits of hiding your IP address as well, like giving you access to content unavailable to your original IP address’s location or hiding your torrenting activity from your peers.
Online Identity
Websites use cookies to identify their visitors. When you visit a website, it stores cookies on your computer that allows it to “remember” you the next time you visit. Many VPNs block these cookies so websites can’t identify you, thus protecting your online identity. However, cookies also play a role in websites remembering your preferences. For instance, if you set a website to dark mode, it uses cookies to remember your settings for your next visit. For such cases, you could set your VPN to allow cookies and customize what types of cookies the website is allowed to use instead.
Personally Identifiable Information
Hackers don’t need to lurk on the internet to find targets. Sometimes, they sit in airport lobbies or coffee shops, looking for unprotected devices on public Wi-Fi networks. With a little know-how, they can intercept data sent over public Wi-Fis, like contact details, passwords, Social Security numbers, online banking credentials, and other personally identifiable information (PII). VPNs encrypt all internet traffic before they leave your device, so even if someone intercepts traffic that contains PII, they won’t be able to see the actual data.
Medical History
Hackers also commit insurance fraud by stealing online medical data and insurance credentials. VPNs can protect you against fraud by masking your IP address and encrypting your internet traffic. In doing so, VPNs keep your medical data hidden from anyone who might try to hijack it.
Travel Plans
Travel booking sites use IP addresses to identify site visitors so that they can lock in or jack up prices. For instance, if you look up deals on flights to Aruba, the site will note your IP address so that on your next visit, they can show you the more expensive deals instead of ongoing, possibly better offers. If you use a VPN, it hides your IP address so booking sites will have no way to alter their deals. Hello, Aruba!
Geolocation
Some VPNs have a feature called GPS spoofing. Aside from masking your IP address, which is tied to your physical location, VPNs hide your location from sites that might use your device’s GPS. When these sites try to retrieve your GPS location, the VPN sends them a different coordinate.
Torrenting
Ever received a warning letter from the government after downloading a file over BitTorrent? Torrenting is not illegal, but downloading copyrighted material over torrent networks could have consequences. Your ISP can actually see what you’re downloading, which means the government can as well. While we don’t encourage downloading illegal torrent files, we recommend using a VPN so that no one can see what you’re torrenting (legally). While you’re at it, check out the best VPNs for torrenting.
Itself
Lastly, a good VPN hides itself. When you connect to a VPN, ISPs, network administrators, search engines, and websites can see that you’re connected to a VPN. However, some VPNs offer VPN obfuscation, wherein they use various obfuscation techniques to hide the fact that they’re a VPN. One popular technique is routing VPN traffic through the TCP port 443, which is the same port through which HTTPS traffic passes. By doing so, VPNs make their traffic seem like regular HTTPS traffic.
What Is an IP Address?
You might notice that most of the things VPNs hide are connected to your IP address. So what is an IP address, really? Basically, it’s a unique series of numbers assigned to your device when you connect to the internet. The internet is like a virtual world where the World Wide Web is the country, your ISP is the state, your local network is the city, and your IP address is your street address. Everything you do online can be traced back to your IP address, and hackers can use your IP address to intercept data or send you malware. That is why hiding your IP address, one of the main tasks of a VPN, is so important.
Limitations of VPNs
VPNs do a lot of good for our privacy, but they’re not perfect. There are things VPNs can’t and don’t do:
VPNs can’t remove cookies already stored in your computer, so the websites where those cookies came from can still identify you unless you clear your browser’s cookies.
VPNs can’t make you completely anonymous on the internet. For instance, logging in to your Google account exposes your identity to Google. If you want complete anonymity, use the Tor browser, which was made specifically for that purpose. 7
VPNs can’t keep your computer virus-free if you visit virus-ridden websites or download malicious attachments; only antivirus software can do that.
How To Choose a VPN
Choosing a VPN is a personal decision, but there are certain factors to consider to make the choice a little bit easier.
Cost: VPN prices across the market average around $10 per month, but there are cheap VPNs with monthly rates as low as $2 if you sign up for a year or longer. There are also free VPNs with considerable features if you really want to cut costs.
Server count: More servers means more connections to choose from and less overcrowding of servers. Some VPNs have a server count in the thousands.
Server locations: The location of the servers matter, whether you want to connect to the fastest server, which is usually the one closest to you, or unblock content that is only viewable in certain countries.
IP addresses: There are VPNs that use static IP addresses, which gives you the same IP address whenever you connect to the VPN, or dynamic IP addresses, which change every time. There are also VPNs with dedicated IP addresses that only you can use.
Features: There are several features to look for in a VPN, such as a kill switch that halts all your device’s internet activity the moment the VPN disconnects. There’s also split tunneling, which allows the simultaneous use of private (VPN) and public networks.
Surfshark Kill switch
Streaming access: VPNs and streaming platforms like Netflix have bad blood, but that doesn’t mean that all VPNs are blocked. You can still binge content from Netflix and other streaming sites with a good VPN for streaming.
Torrenting: Not all VPNs allow peer-to-peer file sharing, so if you’re heavy into torrenting, you should get a VPN that allows torrent downloads.
Privacy policy: Almost all VPNs log data about their users, but some keep more information than others. To maintain your privacy, it’s best to read up on your VPN’s privacy policy.
Encryption methods: VPNs protect their users’ privacy through encryption, so it’s only necessary to get a VPN with strong encryption no weaker than AES-256.
WebRTC and DNS leaks: Despite masking your IP address, a VPN may inadvertently leak your browsing history via WebRTC or DNS leaks. Our review process includes testing for such leaks.
VyprVPN DNS Leak
Overall performance (speed, latency, etc. ): Using a VPN may affect your browsing speed, latency, and overall network performance. While a number of factors may influence your network’s performance while you’re connected to a VPN, it’s still wise to choose a VPN with a solid track record.
Refund policy: Buying an online service such as a VPN is always going to be risky, but a 30-day or longer money-back guarantee makes buying a VPN a little less risky.
Company location: Jurisdictions can complicate a VPN company’s data privacy policies. For example, companies in countries that are members of the Five Eyes, Nine Eyes, or 14 Eyes Alliance are legally required to share customer data with the government when asked.
Company history: The past is the past, but it doesn’t hurt to check a company’s history before entrusting your browsing data to them. We usually check for things such as breaches, controversies involving the company, and how they handled such things.
You can learn more about these factors in our VPN guide.
Types of VPNs
There are also different types of VPNs to choose from.
Remote access: Remote access VPNs connect your computer to a remote server, creating a virtual private tunnel. This type of VPN is best for personal use.
Site-to-site: Site-to-site VPNs create a private tunnel between two local networks, each acting as a VPN server for the other. This type of VPN is best for businesses with multiple offices.
Client-to-provider: This is similar to a remote access VPN, but instead of connecting you to a VPN server through your ISP, it connects you directly to the VPN provider. This eliminates the need to create a virtual tunnel, as the data the VPN provides is already encrypted. Providers of public Wi-Fi typically use this type of VPN.
How To Install a VPN
There are different ways to set up a VPN:
Manual setup from device settings: If you have a VPN’s login info, like from your work’s IT team, you can install a VPN directly from your device’s settings.
Go to your device’s settings and look for the network settings. On Windows, it’s labeled Network and Internet; on Macs, it’s labeled Network.
From there, select the VPN settings and add a new VPN profile.
Input your VPN credentials and configure the profile according to your network administrator’s instructions.
Once the profile is added, test your VPN connection.
Third-party software: You can install VPN software on your computer or phone. Once installed, it will create a VPN profile, which it will use to connect your device to a VPN server.
On your desktop (whether Windows or Mac), download your VPN’s software program installer. You can download it from your VPN’s website. Beware of installation files from third-party websites.
Install the program and log in with your credentials.
If you’re using a smartphone, you can download and install the VPN app from the Google Play Store or the iTunes App Store.
Once it’s installed, launch the app and log in with your credentials.
Browser extensions: Some VPNs have browser extensions that you can use only when browsing.
Launch your browser’s extension repository, such as the Chrome Web Store, Safari Extensions, or Firefox Add-Ons.
Search for the VPN’s browser extension and enable it.
You may need to provide your login information before using the extension.
VPN router: You could also buy a VPN router or set up your own in order to encrypt all your devices’ internet traffic when you connect them to the VPN router.
Buy a VPN router from your VPN company.
Follow the instructions on how to set up the VPN router with your existing modem or router.
Pair the devices you want to connect to the VPN.
Recap
While VPNs do a good job of hiding our browsing history, it’s still our job to protect our online privacy. Sure, VPNs can hide our browsing history from ISPs and search engines, but there are many other ways hackers can steal data. We have tons of security resources on how to increase privacy, prevent identity theft, and increase awareness on prevalent cybercrimes and scams, so be sure to check those out.
FAQs
There’s wisdom in asking questions, so let’s answer the most frequently asked questions about VPNs and browsing history.
Can VPNs hide my browsing data from my ISP?
VPNs can hide your browsing data from your ISP by encrypting your internet traffic before it leaves your computer.
What does a VPN hide?
A VPN hides your internet traffic by encrypting it, masking your real IP address, and protecting your personal data from hackers.
Can a VPN hide my search history?
A VPN can’t hide your browser’s search history or prevent your browser from logging it. If you want to hide your search history, you can manually delete it from your browser or use private browsing, although that will only hide it locally.
Does private browsing work?
Private browsing works by stopping your browser from storing cookies, trackers, search data, and browsing data, but it doesn’t hide your browsing history from your ISP.
How to Check If Your VPN Is Working | Avast
How to tell if your VPN is securely connected
Many VPNs are far less secure than their developers admit. A quick VPN test will show you whether or not your VPN is masking your IP address, leaking your DNS info, or spilling other info that should be protected. Once you learn how to tell if your VPN is working, you’ll have everything you need to evaluate any VPN you use.
A VPN security test will reveal whether your VPN (virtual private network) is providing the level of protection you’re paying for — and if you’re using a free VPN, it’s probably not doing much at all. You can quickly and easily test your VPN connection and see if you’re as anonymous online as you should be.
Is your VPN working? Let’s find out!
Why your VPN is not working — and how to check
When your VPN is working properly, it hides your identifying information from anyone online. But not all VPNs are built as securely as others, and many will inadvertently reveal information that could be used to identify you or your geographical location. If you’re trying to use a VPN to unblock websites, these leaks will prevent you from doing so.
It’s especially important to check for leaks if you’re setting up your own VPN, since you can’t rely on a VPN provider for security. A trustworthy VPN for PC or VPN for Mac should already be leak-proof — but it helps to make sure.
Here, we’ll review the three most common types of VPN leaks and show you how to check your VPN in each case. The best way to avoid all VPN leaks — and fix them if you find any — is to choose a secure and reliable VPN from a provider you trust to keep your data safe.
IP address leaks
Every device that connects to the internet has an IP address, which allows devices to communicate with one another online. IP addresses are linked to geographical locations, so if someone can see your IP address, they know where you are, down to the city or town. People can also use your IP address to track and monitor your activity online.
One of the primary duties of a good VPN is to hide your IP address behind another one. Then, no one can identify your real IP address when you’re online.
How to test for an IP address leak
Any VPN worth its subscription fee should hide your IP address. It’s easy to check if yours is giving you this basic level of protection — or if you have a VPN leak.
First, identify your actual IP address. Make sure your VPN is turned off. Your VPN may display your IP address, or you can search “what is my IP address” and find a number of sites that will quickly show you.
If you Google “what is my IP, ” you’ll see your IP address in either IPv6 or IPv4 format. Avast SecureLine VPN will display your IPv4 address, and many IP address lookup websites will give you both.
Note your IP address — you’ll need to refer to it later during this VPN test.
Turn on your VPN and connect to any server. The Virtual IP here is what your VPN IP address is, which should be different from the actual IP address you noted in Step 1.
Search “what is my IP” again in Google (or use an IP lookup site) and check the result against your VPN’s virtual IP address. If they match, then you know your VPN is effectively hiding your real IP address.
But if the IP check shows your actual IP address from Step 1, then your VPN has failed the VPN test and is leaking your IP address.
How to fix an IP address leak
If your VPN test showed your actual IP address, first try connecting to another VPN server and testing again. If that doesn’t solve the problem, choose a different VPN provider with better security. IP address tracking is one way companies like Google collect and use your data. While a VPN won’t protect against all types of web tracking, it will prevent you from being tracked through your IP address.
Some VPNs don’t cover IPv6 connections. If you have IPv6 enabled on your computer, and you connect to an IPv6-enabled website, your VPN may secure your IPv4 address while letting your IPv6 traffic slip through. In this case, either disable IPv6 on your device, or choose a VPN that protects it. Any VPN that supports IPv6 will also support IPv4.
Hiding your IP address is one of the primary reasons why people choose to use VPNs, and if you’re not getting this basic level of service from your VPN, take your business elsewhere.
Avast SecureLine VPN uses bank-grade encryption on all our lightning-fast servers around the world to hide your IP address and keep you anonymous whenever you connect.
DNS leaks
The DNS (domain name system) is like the phone book for the internet. All websites have IP addresses, but it’s not practical to remember a unique string of numbers for every website you visit. The DNS matches a website’s IP address to its URL — such as You can view and edit your router’s DNS settings in its admin menu.
When you’re not using a VPN, your local ISP (internet service provider) handles your DNS requests, and the websites you visit can see where your DNS requests come from.
A good VPN should handle DNS lookups for you, but not all of them do. In these cases, a website you visit while connected to your VPN will still know where your DNS request came from. This also means your ISP will know which websites you visit, since they’ll be handling DNS lookups instead of your VPN.
How to test for a DNS leak
Checking for DNS leaks is similar to testing your VPN for IP address protection. Here’s how to test your VPN for DNS leaks:
With your VPN off, head to DNSLeakTest, which will show you what your IP address is and display your general location.
Now, turn on your VPN and reload the page. You should see your VPN’s IP address displayed here instead.
If these IP addresses match, then your VPN is protecting your IP address. Try clicking Standard Test or Extended Test under your DNSLeakTest info for more detailed results.
You can see that the results of the Extended Test reflect the US-based server we’re using via Avast SecureLine VPN. If these tests show DNS addresses that belong to your ISP, then your VPN is leaking your DNS info.
How to fix a DNS leak
If the results of your VPN test show a DNS leak, try contacting your VPN provider’s customer support. They may be able to address the issue.
Otherwise, switch to a better VPN with its own encrypted DNS servers — like Avast SecureLine VPN. This will ensure that your VPN won’t reveal your DNS info, which can be used to find your IP address.
WebRTC leaks (and what is a WebRTC leak? )
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a free, open-source solution that lets websites and apps host real-time audio and video communications, offer live streaming, and enable file sharing without using third-party software like extensions or plugins.
A WebRTC leak happens when your browser reveals your actual IP address when making WebRTC requests while you’re connected to a VPN. A good VPN will prevent WebRTC leaks, but not all VPNs do.
Let’s find out what happens with Avast SecureLine VPN.
How to test for a WebRTC leak
With your VPN off, head to a website that can test your VPN for WebRTC protection. Here, we’ll use BrowserLeaks. You should see your actual IP address under Public IP Address.
Connect to your VPN and refresh the page. If your browser is protecting you against WebRTC leaks, you’ll see your VPN-provided IP address here.
In the screenshot above, the IP address in the WebRTC test matches that of our VPN connection — if you get similar results, then your VPN test worked and your VPN is hiding your IP address.
If you still see your actual IP address after the VPN test, then your VPN is leaking your IP address when your web browser makes WebRTC requests.
How to fix a WebRTC leak
If your browser is leaking your IP address via WebRTC, you’ve got several options. The safest, most convenient, and most effective solution is to use a VPN that protects against WebRTC leaks. As we’ve seen in our test above, Avast SecureLine VPN hides your IP address and forces your browser to use one of our IP addresses instead for WebRTC.
And to ensure comprehensive leak protection, our dedicated privacy and security engineers built a simple VPN browser extension that’s easily launched from within the Avast SecureLine VPN app. With Avast SecureLine VPN’s extension turned on, you’ll get comprehensive protection against WebRTC leaks.
You should be able to rely on your VPN to protect your personal data at all times: when you’re using WebRTC to video-call a colleague, banking online, sending a file, surfing over free public Wi-Fi, or trying to unblock a beloved website. Avast SecureLine VPN gets the job done every time, with bank-grade encryption and super-fast servers all over the world.
Without a reliable VPN, you’ll need to disable WebRTC in your browser. This will stop WebRTC leaks, but it’ll also prevent you from using WebRTC-related functions at all.
Test your VPN speed
IP address leaks aren’t the only thing to worry about when testing your VPN. No matter how secure your VPN is, you won’t want to use it if it’s slowing down your internet connection.
A number of factors can affect your VPN speed, and not all of them are due to the VPN itself.
Your internet connection: Your VPN can’t be faster than your actual internet connection. The best it can do is be just as fast.
Physical distance between you and the VPN server: The closer you are to your VPN server, the faster the connection will usually be. But this isn’t always true, since VPN speed can also depend on…
The number of people using the same server: If the closest server to you is handling lots of simultaneous connections, you might get faster service by connecting to one a bit farther away.
Your computer’s processing power: Your computer encrypts and decrypts data as it flows through your VPN. A struggling computer can’t support super-fast VPN speeds.
Local bandwidth limits: If you live in a region with bandwidth restrictions or limitations, your internet speed may suffer. The same can happen if you’re sharing an internet connection with other people.
A quick VPN speed test will show you how well your VPN is performing. If you Google “internet speed test, ” you’ll find one at the top of the search results. Click Run Speed Test to begin.
How to fix VPN speed issues
Is your VPN too slow? Here are a few ways you can speed up your VPN connection. But remember, your VPN can only be as fast as the speed you get from your ISP.
Disconnect and reconnect. You never know — sometimes a reset can make a difference.
Change servers. Experiment and see if you get faster speeds on a different server. Some VPNs can auto-connect you to the fastest available server at any time.
Try a wired connection. Wi-Fi is usually slower than Ethernet. You’ll likely get faster speeds if you connect your computer to your router with an Ethernet cable.
Close down other apps. The more apps that are funneling data through your internet connection, the slower everything will feel.
Do a malware scan. Malicious software can eat up your PC’s resources and slow it down. Try a virus removal tool to speed things up.
What you should do if your VPN isn’t working
Has your VPN failed any of the VPN tests outlined above? If so, contact your VPN’s support team. If you’re using a trustworthy VPN, they should be available to resolve the issue.
Otherwise, switch to a trustworthy and secure VPN that won’t leak your IP address or other personal info online. Avast SecureLine VPN hides your IP address and protects your internet traffic against DNS leaks and other privacy threats to keep you anonymous whenever you’re online.
Protect your privacy with our trusted VPN
There’s no reason to use a VPN that can’t keep your IP address hidden. For true online anonymity whenever you connect, choose a VPN from the cybersecurity experts trusted by over 435 million users worldwide.
Avast SecureLine VPN uses powerful encryption protocols to secure your internet connection against leaks of any kind, protecting you against anyone trying to access your personal data. Experience airtight online privacy today with our 7-day free trial.
Frequently Asked Questions about does a vpn hide your ip address
What does a VPN not hide?
Basically, private browsing prevents your browser from storing local data like cookies, trackers, search history, and browsing history. What it doesn’t do is hide your internet activity from your ISP, router, and websites. So, while private browsing helps increase your privacy, we recommend using it with a VPN.Aug 25, 2021
How do I know if my VPN is hiding my IP address?
With your VPN off, head to DNSLeakTest, which will show you what your IP address is and display your general location. Now, turn on your VPN and reload the page. You should see your VPN’s IP address displayed here instead. If these IP addresses match, then your VPN is protecting your IP address.May 20, 2021
