Is this IP a VPN, proxy or Tor exit?
Check any address — or your own — against provider flags, hosting ranges and the Tor exit list.
Runs on our server; the query is not stored.
What it looks at#
There is no single flag on an IP address that says "this is a VPN". The verdict is assembled from several signals, and each one is imperfect on its own.
- Provider flags. The IP intelligence provider reports whether the address is a known VPN, proxy, hosting or mobile address.
- The Tor exit list. The Tor network publishes the addresses of its exit relays, so Tor is the one case that can be checked against an authoritative list.
- The network itself. The ASN and connection type of the address show whether it sits in a residential ISP, a mobile carrier or a data centre. Almost all commercial VPNs run from data centres.
How to read the verdict#
| Verdict | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Masked | The address belongs to a VPN, proxy, Tor exit or data-centre network |
| Not masked | It looks like an ordinary consumer connection |
| No verdict | The provider used for this lookup does not report masking flags, so the tool declines to guess |
What a "not masked" result does and does not prove#
It means no signal matched. It does not mean nobody is hiding behind the address. New VPN ranges take time to be listed. Residential proxy networks route traffic through real home connections precisely so that they look ordinary. A VPN you run yourself on a small server can go unlisted for a long time. Treat "masked" as informative and "not masked" as unproven.
Why anyone checks#
- Site owners use the same signals for fraud scoring, rate limiting and enforcing content licences.
- VPN users check that a service they pay for actually looks like a VPN, and that the address it gives them is not shared with abuse. Pair this with the leak test.
- Anyone reading a log wants to know whether a strange address is a person or a server.
Related guides
- What is an ASN? Networks and ISPs explainedAn autonomous system number identifies the network that announces an IP range to the internet. How ASNs, ISPs and BGP fit together, and how to read one in a lookup.
- How websites see your IP addressEvery site you visit receives your public IP address. Where it comes from, how proxies and CDNs pass it along, what else is sent with it, and what a VPN changes.
- Can an IP address reveal your location?No. IP geolocation is an estimate built from registry data and inference, often correct to the country and rarely to the street. How it works and why it goes wrong.