A complete guide to IP leak protection – Keep your armor intact

Abeerah Hashim Last updated: September 13, 2022 Read time: 16 minutes

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What is a VPN leak? How a VPN leaks IP? What is a WebRTC leak? Get in-depth answers to all those concerns and more in this IP leak protection guide.

Sneak peek at IP leak protection

VPNs are the preferred tools for hiding the original IP address from prying eyes. However, despite having an active VPN connection, sometimes your real IP gets unveiled, exposing your location, browsing history, and other important data. This phenomenon, called “IP leak” or “VPN leak,” nullifies the purpose of using a VPN. It may happen due to a fault in your chosen VPN service or a sudden connection drop. In this guide, let’s look at the common glitches in VPNs that cause IP leaks and effective workarounds to protect them.

When it comes to protecting your online security, hiding your IP address is imperative. Hence, you should have enough knowledge about IP leak protection.

If you are a new VPN user, you might question, “I use a VPN; what else do I need to do to protect my IP? Isn’t using a VPN enough?“

Well, the answer is, unfortunately, “IT IS your VPN that mainly LEAKS your IP address.”

So, what should you do now?

In this guide, we explain how and why VPNs leak IP addresses online. Also, we will guide you on how to prevent these IP leaks.

What is an IP leak or VPN leak?

An IP leak, also sometimes called a VPN leak, is just what the word says – leakage of your real IP address by your VPN.

IP leak happens due to multiple reasons. Sometimes, the browser extensions or other installed software on your device cause IP leaks. Whereas, in other instances, brief disconnection moments in your VPN connection can leak your real IP address online. (We’ll discuss how it all happens in the following sections.)

So, what happens is that despite an apparent active connection to a VPN server, your real IP address (the one provided by your ISP), your location, time zone, and other actual details are exposed online.

Consequently, from websites to web trackers to cyber-criminals, anyone can track your real details and chase you.

Thus, what happens is that while you happily use a VPN to protect your privacy, you face troubles while surfing.

For instance, you want to visit a website, but it fails to load, clearly mentioning that the service isn’t allowed in your area. You wonder how come the website guessed your correct location.

It’s because your VPN is leaking your real IP address and your location online.

Why should you care about IP leak?

IP leak through your VPN is a critical thing that you should care about. Precisely, this single behavior fails the sole purpose of using a VPN.

Still, for clarity, below, we explicitly mention the key reason why an IP leak demands your attention.

Privacy breach

At first, leakage of your real IP address online is a blatant breach of your privacy.

While you’re trying to hide your actual details from the online world, a mere leakage of your IP address exposes everything about you to everyone online, be it the government, surveillance authorities, or the criminal hackers.