Privacy

VPN vs Proxy vs Tor: What Changes About Your IP?

Quick answer: A VPN usually routes your traffic through a VPN server, a proxy commonly relays traffic for a particular application or protocol, and Tor sends traffic through a distributed relay network.

What websites can see

When traffic is routed through an intermediary, a website may see the intermediary’s public IP rather than the direct address of your connection. The exact behavior depends on the application and configuration.

How to test what is visible

Run VPN / Proxy Check and compare the result with a normal connection. Remember that changing the visible IP does not automatically make every aspect of a browser session anonymous.

For network-level background, see CGNAT and NAT.

Want to see this in practice? Check your own connection's IP, location and ISP.

Check my IP address