VPN Detector - Check Any IP for VPN, Proxy & Tor
Paste any IPv4 or IPv6 address to find out whether it is hiding behind a VPN, a proxy (datacenter, residential, or mobile), a Tor exit node, or a private relay - or press Check my IP to run the same checks on your own connection. The detector leads with a verdict, names the provider or hosting company where it is known, and reports the address's own reputation separately. Free, no account required.
What the VPN Detector checks
Enter an IP address and the tool tells you whether the connection is anonymized and what kind. The result is built around one question - is this IP masked, and how?
- A verdict, not a checklist: The result opens with what the address is - a VPN exit, a Tor node, a residential proxy, a privacy relay, a datacenter address, or an ordinary connection - and names the provider or hosting company behind it where those are known. Whatever was detected is listed, and whatever was ruled out is stated in a line, so you are not reading a column of negatives to find the one positive.
- Provider names: Where the anonymizer is known, the result names the VPN, proxy, or relay provider - so you can recognize repeat sources and tell a commercial VPN from a one-off proxy.
- IP reputation: A threat score out of 100 for the address itself, plus whether it has been seen attacking, sending spam, or running bots. This is a different question from whether the address is a VPN - a VPN exit can have a spotless record and a home connection a poor one.
This tool answers whether an address is anonymized, and reports the address's own reputation alongside it. It does not return location, ISP or ASN details - for those use the IP to ISP Lookup or IP to ASN Lookup tools. To run either check across many addresses at once, use the IP Threat Intelligence API.
How to use the VPN Detector
- Type or paste an IPv4 or IPv6 address into the input field.
- Click Check this IP (you may be asked to complete a quick CAPTCHA on first use).
- Read the verdict at the top - it names what the address is, and the provider or hosting company behind it where those are known. Below it, whatever was detected, what was ruled out, and the address’s own reputation.
- Or press Check my IP to run the same checks against your own connection, without needing to know your address.
When this tool helps
- Check whether an IP is anonymized. Run a single address from a log, an order, or a sign-up to see whether it's a VPN, proxy, Tor, or datacenter connection rather than an ordinary visitor.
- Identify the anonymizer type and provider. Tell a commercial VPN from a residential proxy or a Tor exit node before you decide how to treat the traffic.
- Check whether your own VPN is working. Press Check my IP and the tool reads the address your traffic arrives from, so you do not need to look it up first. If the verdict comes back as not anonymized, your traffic is not going through the VPN.
FAQs
Paste the IPv4 or IPv6 address into the box and press Check this IP - or press Check my IP to run the same checks on your own connection. The result leads with a verdict, then the VPN, proxy, residential proxy, Tor, relay and datacenter flags behind it.
The result labels the anonymizer type. A VPN routes all traffic through an encrypted tunnel; a proxy forwards specific requests and can be datacenter, residential, or mobile. The tool reports each separately so you can tell them apart at a glance.
Yes. If the IP is a known Tor exit node at the time of the check, it is flagged. Tor traffic signals a strong intent to stay anonymous.
Yes. Residential proxies route through real home connections and are harder to spot; datacenter proxies come from hosting ranges. The tool flags both, along with the provider name where it is known.
Because most VPN addresses are not attributed to a brand. Detection works from infrastructure - the address ranges VPN services run on - and knowing an address is a VPN exit does not require knowing whose. Where the provider is catalogued, the verdict names it. Where it is not, the hosting company is named instead, which is usually the more useful identification anyway: it tells you the address sits in a rented datacenter range rather than on a home connection.
No, and any list you find will be out of date before you use it. VPN providers rotate and add addresses continuously, which is why detection is a lookup rather than a file. To check a lot of addresses, query the IP Threat Intelligence API - it answers the same question this page does, one call per address or in bulk, against data that is kept current.
Commercial VPNs, datacenter proxies and Tor exit nodes are detected reliably - they run on known infrastructure, and that infrastructure is catalogued and kept current. Residential proxies are harder: they relay through real home connections, so a flagged address looks much like an ordinary broadband customer. A verdict tells you what the address is known to be, not what it might be, so treat a negative as "nothing on record" rather than proof.
Yes. The detector accepts both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.
Connect to your VPN, then press Check my IP - the tool reads the address your traffic is arriving from, so you do not need to look it up. If the VPN is working the verdict should read as a VPN, often naming the provider or the hosting company behind it. If it comes back as not anonymized, your traffic is not going through the VPN.
Not directly. This tool sees the address your browser is connecting from, and a torrent client can be bound to a different interface - which is exactly the case people want to rule out. Checking it properly needs a torrent-based test that reports the address your client announces to peers. What this tool can confirm is whether the address your browser shows is a VPN, which is worth knowing but is not the same check.
It means a site has identified your connection as coming through a proxy, VPN, or other anonymizer rather than a normal connection. Paste the IP into the detector to see which type was flagged.
The tool is free to use in your browser with no sign-up. An account is only needed if you later want to automate checks through the API.
Yes - your ISP can see that you are connected to a VPN, but not what you do through it. They carry the traffic, so they see the address you connected to, when, and how much data moved; if that address belongs to a known VPN service, the fact you are using one is not hidden from them. What the tunnel does hide is the destination and content of what you send through it, provided your DNS queries go through the tunnel too rather than leaking to the ISP separately. This page answers the mirror image of that question: whether an address other people see is recognizable as a VPN.
A VPN (virtual private network) routes your internet traffic through a remote server and encrypts the connection between your device and the internet. It hides your real IP address and makes it harder for third parties to see your location or track your activity.
No — a VPN is a legitimate privacy and security tool. Some sites still treat VPN traffic with extra caution because it hides a visitor's real location, which is why anonymized connections are sometimes asked to verify before sensitive actions.