Not all IP addresses are created equal. When a website checks your IP, it can often tell whether you're connecting from a regular residential connection, a VPN, or a datacenter.
Residential IPs
These are assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to your home or mobile connection. They're considered the most "trustworthy" by websites because they indicate a real person behind a real connection.
VPN IPs
When you connect through a VPN, your traffic is routed through the VPN provider's server. Your real IP is hidden and replaced with the VPN server's IP. These IPs are often:
- Shared among many users
- Listed in known VPN IP databases
- Sometimes blocked by streaming services
Datacenter IPs
These come from cloud providers like AWS, Google Cloud, or DigitalOcean. They're commonly used by bots, scrapers, and automated services. A datacenter IP on a regular browsing session is a red flag for many fraud detection systems.
How Detection Works
Services maintain databases of known VPN and datacenter IP ranges. Our tool cross-references your IP against these lists to give you an instant verdict.
Try it out — check your IP now and see what category you fall into.