WebRTC LEAK TEST
Exposing Hidden IP Leaks in Your Connection
Public (VPN) IP
WebRTC Exposed IPs
Executive Summary
Threat Intelligence Briefing
Glossary
Understanding WebRTC Leaks and Your Digital Privacy
You use a Virtual Private Network (VPN) to protect your online identity. It's your digital shield, hiding your real IP address behind an encrypted tunnel. But a sneaky vulnerability called a WebRTC leak can shatter that shield, exposing your location and online activities. Our tool is designed to detect this specific, common, and dangerous leak.
What is a WebRTC Leak and Why Is It Dangerous?
WebRTC (Web Real-Time Communication) is a standard technology built into modern browsers like Chrome, Firefox, and Edge. Its purpose is to enable real-time voice and video calls directly between browsers without needing extra plugins. To do this, it needs to know the true IP addresses of the communicating devices.
The danger arises when WebRTC's requests to find your IP address bypass your VPN's encrypted tunnel. While your normal web traffic goes through the VPN, WebRTC can open a side channel that reveals your actual, home IP address. This is a WebRTC leak.
- Anonymity Lost: The primary reason for using a VPN is to mask your real IP. A leak makes this pointless.
- Location Exposed: Your IP address can be used to pinpoint your physical location, sometimes down to your city or neighborhood.
- Security Risk: Exposing your IP can make you a target for hackers or unwanted surveillance.
How Our Advanced WebRTC Leak Test Works
Our tool performs a simple but critical diagnostic test to check your VPN's integrity against this threat:
- Establish Public IP: First, we check the public IP address that the world sees. If your VPN is working, this should be the IP address of the VPN server.
- Query WebRTC: Next, our tool uses the same techniques as WebRTC itself, sending requests to STUN servers to discover all possible IP address candidates your browser knows about.
- Compare and Analyze: Finally, we compare the public IP from your VPN with the IPs found via WebRTC. If we find any IP address that is different from your public VPN IP, it means you have a WebRTC leak.
How to Fix and Prevent WebRTC Leaks
If our test finds a leak, don't panic. You can fix it. The most effective solution is to control or disable WebRTC in your browser.
Method 1: Use a Browser Extension (Recommended)
The easiest and safest way to stop WebRTC leaks is by using a reputable browser extension. These extensions give you granular control over browser features.
- uBlock Origin: A highly respected content blocker that includes an option to prevent WebRTC leaks. After installing, go to its settings, navigate to the "Privacy" tab, and check the box that says "Prevent WebRTC from leaking local IP addresses."
- WebRTC Leak Prevent: A dedicated extension specifically for managing WebRTC settings.
Method 2: Manually Disable WebRTC in Your Browser
For users who prefer not to install extensions, you can disable WebRTC manually. This is slightly more technical.
In Firefox:
- Type
about:configinto the address bar and press Enter. Accept the warning. - In the search bar that appears, type
media.peerconnection.enabled. - The value should be
trueby default. Double-click it to change it tofalse. - Your WebRTC is now disabled. You can run our test again to confirm.
In Google Chrome:
Chrome does not have a simple switch to disable WebRTC. While there were flags in the past, the most reliable method for Chrome users is to use a browser extension like the ones mentioned above. Attempting to block it manually can be unreliable and may be reset with browser updates.