Check if an IP Is a VPN or Proxy
Someone signed up from an address that doesn't look right? Paste the IP and this VPN detector tells you in seconds whether it's a VPN, a proxy, a Tor exit or a datacenter server. Free, no signup.
Datacenter IP Detected
Your IP belongs to a datacenter or hosting company, not a home connection.
216.73.217.172
Need this in your signup flow?
Run the same check in your signup form with Fidro's API. 200 a month free, no credit card.
Your IP: 216.73.217.172
VPN
Proxy
Tor
Datacenter
Check every signup, not just this one.
Fidro's API runs this check on every signup, adds the email and memory of who it has seen, and answers allow, challenge or block. 200 lookups a month, free.
No credit card required. Cancel anytime. Or see the full API response for an IP like this first.
How VPN detection works
Matching known ranges
Fidro compares the IP against lists of known VPN servers, open proxies and Tor exit nodes. The proxy and Tor lists refresh daily, the VPN ranges weekly.
Who owns the network
Every IP belongs to a network run by someone: a home broadband provider or a hosting company. VPN servers almost always live in datacenters, so a signup from a hosting network stands out.
Reputation
Fidro also checks the IP against lists of addresses and networks flagged for abuse. All of it feeds one risk score, so a VPN alone doesn't get a real customer blocked.
What the detector looks for
Four ways people hide where they really are.
VPN Detection
Spots traffic from commercial VPN providers' server ranges, the most common way to hide a location.
Proxy Detection
Spots open proxies, which forward traffic so the real IP never reaches you.
Tor Detection
Checks the Tor Project's own list of exit nodes, refreshed every day.
Datacenter Detection
Spots IPs from cloud and hosting companies such as AWS, DigitalOcean and OVH. Real people rarely browse from a server.
VPN vs Proxy vs Tor: What's the Difference?
| Feature | VPN | Proxy | Tor |
|---|---|---|---|
| Encryption | Full encryption (AES-256) | Usually none | Multi-layer encryption |
| Speed | Fast | Fast | Slow |
| Anonymity | Moderate (provider can see traffic) | Low (operator can see traffic) | High (no single node sees full path) |
| Common Use | Privacy, geo-unblocking | Web scraping, caching | Maximum anonymity |
| Detection Difficulty | Moderate | Easy | Easy (public exit node list) |
Why businesses detect VPNs
Fraud prevention. Someone paying with a stolen card doesn't want you to see where they are, so they use a VPN. Spotting it lets you hold the order for review before it turns into a chargeback.
Geographic restrictions. Streaming services and broadcasters license content country by country. VPN detection is how they spot viewers getting around it.
Free-tier abuse. A free tier is an open invitation to sign up again and again from a different VPN server each time. Spotting VPN and datacenter IPs at signup closes that door.
Account security. When an account that always logs in from home suddenly appears behind a VPN in another country, someone else may have the password. A VPN flag is a good reason to ask for a second factor.
How to add VPN detection to your app
You send the visitor's IP to an API and get back whether it's a VPN, proxy, Tor exit or datacenter. With Fidro that's one request, and most teams wire it up in an afternoon.
At signup
Check the IP when the signup form is submitted, before the account exists. If it's a VPN, you can block it, ask for more (a phone number, say) or let it in and flag it. This is where free tier abuse and duplicate accounts get stopped.
At login
Check the IP on every login too. A user who always logs in from home in London and suddenly shows up on a VPN server abroad may not be your user. Treat it as one signal in a score rather than a hard block, because plenty of real people use a VPN for privacy.
At checkout
Card fraud often hides behind a VPN. When the billing address is in New York but the IP is a datacenter on another continent, hold the order and take a closer look. VPN detection works best alongside address checks, not instead of them.
Example: checking an IP with Fidro's API
// Node.js example
const response = await fetch('https://fidro.io/api/validate', {
method: 'POST',
headers: {
'Authorization': 'Bearer YOUR_API_KEY',
'Content-Type': 'application/json',
},
body: JSON.stringify({ ip: req.ip, event: 'signup' }),
});
const result = await response.json();
const { vpn, proxy, tor } = result.data.checks;
if (vpn || proxy || tor) {
// Ask for more, or flag the account for review
console.log('Anonymised IP:', result.recommendation);
}Responses average under 200ms, so it's safe to call inline. The free plan includes 200 lookups a month, enough to try it on real traffic before you pay for anything.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if an IP address is a VPN?
Paste the IP into the checker above. Fidro compares it against known VPN ranges, proxy lists, Tor exit nodes and datacenter networks, and shows the verdict with the ISP and location. It accepts IPv4 and IPv6, so you can paste one straight from your signup logs, fraud queue or server logs.
Is there a list of known VPN IP addresses?
Not one you can download once and keep. VPN providers add and rotate servers all the time, so any fixed list goes stale. Fidro refreshes its VPN and datacenter ranges every week and its proxy and Tor lists every day, so you don't have to maintain one yourself.
How does VPN detection work?
Mostly by matching. The IP is compared against ranges known to belong to VPN providers, open proxies, Tor exit nodes and hosting companies. VPN servers live in datacenters, not homes, so the network an IP belongs to says a lot. Fidro combines these signals into one risk score.
What's the difference between a VPN, proxy, and Tor?
A VPN encrypts all your traffic and sends it through one server. It's fast and covers your whole connection. A proxy usually handles one app's traffic, like a browser, and often doesn't encrypt it. Tor bounces traffic through three volunteer relays for strong anonymity, at the cost of speed. All three hide the user's real IP.
Can a VPN be detected?
Usually, yes. A VPN hides the user's IP, but not the server's, and that server sits in a known VPN or datacenter range. The hard cases are residential proxies, which route traffic through home connections and look like ordinary users. That's why Fidro treats a VPN as one signal in a score, not a verdict on its own.
Why do businesses detect VPNs?
Mostly to stop fraud. People use VPNs to hide where they are when they pay with a stolen card, open their tenth free account, or log in to someone else's account. Streaming services also use VPN detection to enforce regional licensing.
Is this VPN detector free?
Yes, with no signup and a fair daily limit. For the same detection in your own app, Fidro's API has a free plan with 200 lookups a month, no credit card. Paid plans start at $29 a month for 5,000, with full VPN, proxy and Tor detection.
API
Put this check in your signup form.
One API call checks the IP for VPN, proxy and Tor use alongside the email, and gives you a risk score with an allow, challenge or block answer, not just a true or false flag. See how the VPN detection API scores a request.
Also check out our email checker, IP checker, domain checker, and bulk email checker.
Comparing providers? See how Fidro stacks up against IPQualityScore, MaxMind, and GetIPIntel.
curl -X POST https://fidro.io/api/validate \
-H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY" \
-d '{"ip": "203.0.113.42"}'Start catching bad signups in the next 5 minutes
Create your account, grab your API key, and send your first request. Free plan with 200 validations/month. No credit card. Cancel anytime.