Is detecting a VPN legal?

Yes. Checking the characteristics of an IP address you receive traffic from is standard practice for fraud prevention and licensing.

How do I detect VPNs automatically?

Use the VPN detection API: send GET /v1/vpn/{ip} from your backend and act on the verdict and score.

Does the free checker need an account?

No — the checker above is free to use. An account and API key are only needed to automate detection.

IPScanner

VPN Checker

How to Detect a VPN

Paste any IP address to check whether it is using a VPN, then learn the signals behind the verdict and how to automate detection at scale.

Overview

How can you tell if an IP is a VPN?

You can tell an IP is a VPN by checking it against known VPN provider ranges, looking at whether it lives in a datacenter or hosting ASN instead of a residential ISP, and weighing its reputation history. No single signal is conclusive on its own, which is why a good VPN check combines several. The checker above does this for you instantly; the sections below explain what it looks at.

Signals

The signals that reveal a VPN

Each one shifts the verdict — together they give a reliable answer.

Known provider ranges

The IP appears in published or harvested VPN server ranges.

Datacenter hosting

Consumer traffic from a hosting ASN is a classic VPN tell.

Geolocation mismatch

Stated location conflicts with other location signals.

Protocol fingerprints

Signatures linked to common VPN protocols.

Reputation history

Prior anonymising behaviour from the address.

Confidence scoring

A combined score expresses how certain the verdict is.

Next steps

From manual check to automation

One-off checks

Use the checker above for ad-hoc investigation of a single IP.

In your signup flow

Call the API to flag VPN signups before they become a problem.

In fraud rules

Feed the VPN score into your existing risk engine.

At login

Trigger step-up authentication on VPN logins.

More tools

Explore related detection tools

VPN Detection APIReal-time VPN detection API. Send any IP and get back whether it belongs to a commercial VPN, with a confidence score. Free tier, simple REST, fast global lookups.Proxy Detection APIDetect HTTP, SOCKS, residential and datacenter proxies plus Tor exit nodes from any IP with one REST call. Real-time proxy detection API with a free tier.Residential Proxy DetectionDetect residential proxies that disguise traffic as ordinary home connections. Real-time residential proxy detection by IP with confidence scoring and a free tier.Datacenter Proxy DetectionDetect datacenter and cloud-hosted proxies by IP in real time. Identify hosting ASNs used for proxying and scraping with confidence scoring and a free API tier.

Ontdek de suite

Probeer onze andere tools

VPN-detectieIdentificeer IP's die via versleutelde VPN-tunnels lopen om hun echte locatie te verbergen.ProxydetectieMarkeer HTTP-, SOCKS-, residentiële en datacenterproxy's plus Tor-exitnodes.IP-geolocatieBreng elk IP in kaart naar land, regio en stad met ISP- en tijdzonegegevens.ASN-gegevensZoek het Autonomous System Number en de organisatie op die een IP-bereik bezit.WHOIS-infoHaal registratie- en eigendomsgegevens op voor domeinen en IP-bereiken.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

No detection is perfect, but combining provider ranges, hosting analysis and reputation catches the large majority of commercial VPNs and returns a confidence score for the rest.

Waarom IPScanner

Vertrouwd door duizenden bedrijven wereldwijd voor betrouwbare IP-intelligence

Toonaangevende nauwkeurigheid

Onze AI-gestuurde detectie behaalt een nauwkeurigheid van 99,8% en presteert daarmee aanzienlijk beter dan traditionele methoden.

Prestaties op enterpriseniveau

Gebouwd voor schaalbaarheid met hoge betrouwbaarheid en een uptime-SLA van 99,99% voor bedrijfskritische toepassingen.

Uitgebreide dekking

Wij onderhouden de grootste database van VPN-diensten, proxy's en anonimiseringstools met dagelijkse updates.

Eenvoudige integratie

Gebruiksvriendelijke REST-API voor alle gangbare programmeertalen en frameworks.

Transparante communicatie

Heldere documentatie en regelmatige updates over onze detectiemogelijkheden en verbeteringen.

Deskundige ondersteuning

Toegewijd technisch supportteam met diepgaande expertise in IP-intelligence en cybersecurity.

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