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Privacy in Internet – How to Protect Yourself Online

Your internet connection reveals more about you than most people realise — your IP address, DNS queries, and browser settings can all expose your identity and browsing activity even when you believe you are protected. This page explains the main privacy risks when using the internet and gives you free tools to test your current protection level right now. Start with the DNS leak test below to check whether your connection is exposing your browsing activity to your ISP.

The Main Privacy Risks When Using the Internet

Every website you visit can see your IP address — a number that identifies your device and reveals your approximate location, your ISP, and the type of connection you are using. Advertisers, trackers, and data brokers use your IP address to build a profile of your online behaviour across different websites and sessions. Simply visiting a website is enough to expose this information without any login or account required.

Your DNS queries are a separate and equally significant privacy exposure. Every time you visit a website your device sends a DNS query to translate the domain name into an IP address. These queries reveal every website you visit to your DNS provider — which is typically your ISP by default. Even if you use a VPN, a DNS leak can send these queries directly to your ISP rather than through the VPN's private servers.

WebRTC is a browser feature that can expose your real IP address to websites even when a VPN is active. It operates at the browser level and bypasses VPN protection at the network level — meaning your real IP can be visible to any website running WebRTC scripts, regardless of your VPN status. This affects Chrome, Firefox, Edge, and most other major browsers by default. Learn more about WebRTC leaks.

IPv6 is a growing privacy risk that most VPN users overlook. Many ISPs now assign IPv6 addresses alongside IPv4, but not all VPNs protect IPv6 traffic. If your VPN only tunnels IPv4, your real IPv6 address is exposed in the torrent swarm, in WebRTC connections, and in direct website requests — creating a persistent identifier that is harder to mask than IPv4. Test your IPv6 exposure here.

Free Tools to Test Your Internet Privacy

Use these free tools to test each privacy risk on your current connection:

DNS Leak TestCheck whether your VPN is leaking DNS requests to your ISP.WebRTC Leak TestCheck whether your browser is exposing your real IP through WebRTC.IP Leak TestCheck whether your real IP address is visible to websites.IPv6 Leak TestCheck whether your VPN is leaving IPv6 traffic unprotected.VPN Leak TestRun all three leak tests simultaneously for a complete privacy check.What Is My IPSee your current public IP, ISP, location, and whether a VPN is detected.

How to Improve Your Internet Privacy

Step 1 — Use a Trusted VPN

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and replaces your real IP with the VPN server's IP, preventing your ISP from monitoring your activity. Choose a provider with an independently audited no-logs policy and built-in DNS leak protection.

Step 2 — Fix WebRTC in Your Browser

Install the WebRTC Network Limiter extension in Chrome or disable WebRTC in Firefox via about:config. See the full guide at WebRTC leak prevention.

Step 3 — Switch to a Private DNS Server

Replace your ISP's DNS with Cloudflare 1.1.1.1 or Google 8.8.8.8 to stop your ISP logging your DNS queries. See Check DNS Server to verify what DNS you are currently using.

Step 4 — Enable Your VPN Kill Switch

A kill switch blocks all internet traffic if your VPN drops, preventing your real IP from being briefly exposed during reconnection. Enable it in your VPN client settings.

Step 5 — Test Regularly

VPN updates, browser updates, and network changes can all reintroduce leaks. Run a full privacy test at VPN Leak Test after any major update or when connecting to a new network.

Privacy is about controlling who can see your data and online activity. Security is about protecting your data from being stolen or compromised. A VPN primarily improves privacy by hiding your activity from your ISP and masking your IP. Security measures like HTTPS, strong passwords, and two-factor authentication protect you from attackers. Both are important and complementary.

Frequently asked questions

What is internet privacy and why does it matter?

Internet privacy is your ability to control what personal information is collected and shared when you go online. Every website you visit, search you make, and service you use generates data — including your IP address, location, browsing history, and device fingerprint. Without protection, this data is available to your ISP, advertisers, and potentially malicious actors.

Does a VPN give me complete privacy on the internet?

A VPN is the single most effective privacy tool for most users, but it is not complete on its own. A VPN hides your IP address and encrypts your traffic, but it does not prevent browser-level leaks like WebRTC exposure, cookie tracking, or browser fingerprinting. Complete privacy requires a VPN combined with browser-level fixes and good browsing habits.

Can my ISP see what I do online if I use a VPN?

When a VPN is working correctly, your ISP can see that you are connected to a VPN server but cannot see the content of your traffic or the websites you visit. However, if your VPN has a DNS leak, your ISP receives your DNS queries and can see every domain you visit — even though your IP appears masked. Run the DNS leak test above to check.

What is the most important privacy test to run?

The DNS leak test is the most important single test because DNS leaks are the most common VPN failure and expose your complete browsing history to your ISP. After that, run a WebRTC leak test to check for browser-level IP exposure, and an IPv6 leak test if your ISP assigns IPv6 addresses. The VPN Leak Test page runs all three simultaneously.

Is it possible to be completely anonymous online?

True anonymity online is extremely difficult to achieve and is not realistic for everyday browsing. However, you can achieve a very high level of practical privacy by using a no-logs VPN, fixing WebRTC and DNS leaks, using private DNS servers, and avoiding logging into accounts that link to your real identity. The goal for most users is strong privacy rather than absolute anonymity.

What is the difference between privacy and security online?

Privacy is about controlling who can see your data and online activity. Security is about protecting your data from being stolen or compromised. A VPN primarily improves privacy by hiding your activity from your ISP and masking your IP. Security measures like HTTPS, strong passwords, and two-factor authentication protect you from attackers. Both are important and complementary.

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