WebRTC Leak Checker

What Is a WebRTC Leak Checker?

This tool gathers real ICE (Interactive Connectivity Establishment) candidates using the genuine WebRTC API, exactly the process real-time video calling and file-sharing apps use to establish direct peer-to-peer connections. In the process of gathering these candidates, your browser can reveal your real local network IP address and, depending on your setup, your actual public-facing IP - information that's relevant if you're using a VPN specifically to hide your real IP, since WebRTC can sometimes bypass that protection at the browser level.

How to Use the WebRTC Leak Checker

1. Click "Check for WebRTC Leaks."
2. Wait a few seconds for real ICE candidate gathering to complete.
3. Review any detected addresses - local network IPs and public-facing IPs are labeled separately.
4. If you're using a VPN, compare the public IP shown here against your VPN's actual assigned IP.

How It Works

This tool creates a genuine RTCPeerConnection and requests a real network offer, which triggers the browser's actual ICE candidate gathering process - the same mechanism used to find the best real path for a peer-to-peer connection. Each candidate contains genuine network address information; this tool extracts and displays any IP addresses found in that real candidate data, classifying each as either a private local network address (like 192.168.x.x) or a public-facing address based on standard private IP range rules.

Understanding Your Results

• Only a local network IP shown - normal and expected in many configurations; your local network address alone typically isn't a significant privacy concern since it's not routable from the public internet.
• A public IP is shown that matches your VPN's IP - your VPN is correctly routing WebRTC traffic through its tunnel, which is the expected secure behavior.
• A public IP is shown that does NOT match your VPN's IP (your real ISP-assigned IP instead) - this is a genuine WebRTC leak; your VPN isn't preventing WebRTC from revealing your actual, real internet-facing IP address, which defeats one of the main purposes of using a VPN.
• No addresses detected at all - your browser or a privacy extension may be blocking WebRTC candidate gathering entirely, which is actually the most privacy-protective outcome for this specific concern.

Browser Limitations

Some browsers and privacy-focused configurations limit ICE candidate information specifically to reduce this exact kind of exposure, sometimes only revealing a randomized or obfuscated address (called "mDNS" candidates) instead of your real local IP - this is an intentional privacy protection some browsers have added, not a limitation of this test. This tool detects and reports whatever your specific browser and network configuration actually exposes at the moment you run it.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Assuming any detected IP is automatically a serious problem - a local network IP alone is generally low-risk; the real concern is specifically a public IP that doesn't match your intended VPN or proxy address.
• Testing without your VPN active for comparison - run this test both with and without your VPN connected to clearly see the difference and confirm whether a real leak is occurring.
• Not checking your VPN's specific WebRTC leak protection setting - many VPN applications and browser extensions include a dedicated toggle specifically for this issue.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

If privacy behind a VPN matters to you, running this test with your VPN both on and off gives you a direct, genuine answer about whether WebRTC is exposing more than you intend. For a broader check of your connection's overall security, pair this with the HTTPS Checker.