▓▒░ /am-i-using-a-vpn ░▒▓

Am I using a VPN?

Two-second answer. Yes or no, plus the visible IP and country websites currently see for you.

★ isvpnworking.com - Live Status Window
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⚡ live status check ⚡
checking . . .
running 3 tests on your connection, hold tight
FYI we're checking your IP, location, and 3 types of leaks. all in your browser, nothing sent to us.
visible IP →
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they think you're in →
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VPN brand detected →
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tested at →
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┌─ LEAK DETECTION RESULTS ─┐
▸ webrtc test peer-to-peer ip leak
running…
▸ dns test domain query leak
running…
▸ ipv6 test protocol exposure
running…
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★ When this question matters more than you'd think
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Quick version: a surprising number of devices are routing traffic through some kind of tunnel without the user knowing. Work VPNs, security suite VPNs, Apple Private Relay, Google One VPN, mobile carrier 'safety' middleboxes - they all silently change your effective IP.

Things that secretly are a VPN

iCloud Private Relay (iPhone, iPad, Mac)

If you're an iCloud+ subscriber and you use Safari, Apple silently routes your DNS and a portion of your HTTPS traffic through a two-hop relay - first hop via Apple, second hop via a partner (Cloudflare, Akamai, Fastly). Websites see a Cloudflare IP, not your real one. Effectively a VPN for browser traffic.

Toggle: Settings -> [your name] -> iCloud -> Private Relay.

Google One VPN

If you have Google One (the storage upgrade), VPN access is bundled in many countries. The Google One app on Android/iOS or the desktop client routes all traffic through Google's edge. Often turned on once during onboarding and forgotten about.

Antivirus / security suite VPNs

Norton, McAfee, Avast, Bitdefender, Kaspersky all ship VPN modules. They sometimes auto-enable when you connect to public Wi-Fi or when an "unsafe" site is detected. Users blame the VPN for "slow internet" without realizing it's even on.

Corporate VPN auto-connect

IT departments configure work laptops to auto-connect to the corporate VPN whenever you're outside the office network. Your traffic - including personal browsing - gets routed through your employer's exit IPs. Visible in our checker as a corporate-looking org name.

Mobile carrier "boost" features

T-Mobile's "Web Guard", Verizon's "Safe Mode", and various MVNO offerings sometimes route traffic through middlebox proxies that look VPN-ish to detection tools. Less common than they used to be but still around.

How to read our verdict

  • VPN WORKS! - we detected at least one strong VPN signal. You're using something - either a deliberate VPN or one of the silent-VPN cases above.
  • NO VPN! - we couldn't detect a VPN. You're connecting from what looks like a residential ISP. If you thought you had a VPN on, something's wrong with that VPN.
  • VPN LEAKING! - your VPN is detected, but one of the leak tests caught your real IP escaping. Use the WebRTC, DNS, IPv6 detail rows to see which one.

What websites see vs. what you see

The big number on this page is the IP and country your computer presents to the public internet. Websites you visit see exactly that - so it's also the IP that geo-restricts you on Netflix, the IP your bank fraud-checks, the IP your government sees if it's monitoring traffic.

If that number isn't what you want to be visible, you're using the wrong VPN (or none at all). If it is what you want, you're set.

Bottom line

The fastest way to answer "am I using a VPN" is to check what the public internet sees. That's exactly what this page does, in your browser, no signup. If the answer surprises you, the next step is figuring out which app or feature is doing it - and whether you actually want it on.

FAQ
Why would I not know if I'm using a VPN? [+]

More common than people think. Some scenarios: your work laptop has a corporate VPN that auto-connects on certain networks; you installed a 'security' app that bundled a VPN feature without explaining; your phone has a 'private relay' enabled (Apple iCloud Private Relay, Google One VPN); your antivirus turned its built-in VPN on after an update; or you're at a hotel that's silently routing you through a 'safety' middlebox. This page tells you in two seconds.

I think I'm using a VPN but the test says no - what now? [+]

Three steps: (1) Confirm in your VPN app that it shows 'Connected' - not 'Connecting' or 'Reconnecting'; (2) Check whether your VPN has split tunneling enabled and our domain is in the bypass list; (3) Restart the VPN client completely and re-test. If still no, the VPN client is misreporting its state - very common with free VPNs and built-in 'security suite' VPNs. Replace it.

I'm clearly NOT using a VPN but the test says I am - why? [+]

Usually because your ISP routes traffic through a network that ASN databases classify as 'cloud' or 'hosting'. Some mobile carriers, transit networks, and corporate ISPs trip the heuristic. Cross-check by visiting whatismyipaddress.com - if it shows your normal home location, you're fine, our test just got a false positive on the org-name signal.

Is this test the same as the home page? [+]

It runs the same widget but the page-level question is different. Home page is 'is your VPN actually working?' (assumes you have one, checks for leaks). This page is 'are you currently using a VPN at all?' (no assumption, just a yes/no). The widget is the same; the framing is for different search intents.

Does my browser tell websites whether I have a VPN? [+]

No - there's no 'using_vpn=true' header. Websites guess based on the same signals we use: IP organization name, timezone mismatch, language mismatch, browsing pattern. They can be wrong, just like we can be wrong. The only ground truth is whether your VPN process is running and what routes it has installed - and only you and the OS know that.