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Connect the VPN. Start the monitor. Then kill the connection and watch what leaks, and for how long.
—Current IP
IdleStatus
0.0 sExposed so far
Polling every 1.5 s.
Baseline is the first address seen. Any different public address afterwards is counted as exposure until the baseline returns.
Everything on this page runs in your browser. We do not log what you check, and no result — no address, no email, no speed figure — leaves your device. Analytics records that the tool was used, never what it returned. Privacy policy. Tool last reviewed 2026-09-06.
How the test works
Once started, the page asks our edge for your address every 1.5 seconds and logs each answer. The first answer is your baseline — the VPN's address, if you connected before starting. When you then break the tunnel, one of three things happens. A working kill switch: the requests fail ("unreachable") until the VPN reconnects, then the baseline returns. No kill switch: a different address appears — your real one — and the timer counts how long it stays. A slow kill switch: the real address appears for a second or two before the requests start failing. That second or two is the finding.
Ways to break the VPN for the test
Toggle Wi-Fi off and on. The most realistic; this is what happens when you walk between access points.
Switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data on a phone.
Force-quit the VPN app. Tests whether the kill switch survives the app crashing.
On desktop, change the VPN server. Some apps briefly drop the tunnel while switching.
What a good result looks like
Baseline, then "unreachable" for a few seconds, then baseline again. Exposed time: zero. Anything else is worth fixing in the app's settings before you rely on it for torrenting or anything else where your real address matters.
Frequently asked questions
What does a VPN kill switch do?
It blocks all internet traffic whenever the VPN tunnel is not up, so a dropped connection cannot silently expose your real IP. Without one, the moment the VPN drops your apps carry on over the ordinary connection — which is how most "my torrent client showed my real IP" stories happen.
How do I test my kill switch?
Connect the VPN, start this test, then break the VPN: toggle Wi-Fi off and on, switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data, or kill the VPN app. Watch the log. A working kill switch shows the requests failing, then your VPN address returning. A failing one shows your real address for a few seconds — the log times how long.
The test shows my real IP for 2–3 seconds. Is that bad?
Yes. Two seconds is enough for a torrent client to announce, a website to log a request, or a DNS query to go out. A kill switch that engages after the fact is a kill switch that does not work. Look for a "permanent" or "always-on" kill-switch setting, which blocks traffic at the firewall level rather than reacting to the app noticing a drop.
Does iPhone have a kill switch?
Not as a feature by that name, but iOS Always-On VPN and the on-demand rules most apps expose do the same job: iOS refuses to route traffic outside the tunnel while it is meant to be up. Test it the same way.
Why does the test say "unreachable" instead of showing an IP?
Because the kill switch is doing its job — the request could not leave your device. That is the result you want to see between the VPN dropping and reconnecting.
Is my IP sent to you during this test?
Each poll is a request to our own edge, which is how the page reads your address; the results stay in your browser. We do not store them.