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Public IP addresses in a video call: what they mean

Learn what public IP addresses can reveal in a four-person video call, how WebRTC and VPNs affect them, and how to check for an IP leak.

Daniel HayesHardware tests Tests 5 min read

On a four-person video call, you may wonder whether the other people can see your public IP address, or why a browser test reports an address that does not look like yours. The answer depends on your VPN, browser, and how the call service routes audio and video.

You can check what your browser exposes with TooLab’s VPN Leak Test. It checks for your real IP address appearing through IPv6 or WebRTC while your VPN is on. The result is useful evidence, but it cannot guarantee what a particular video-call service shares with other participants.

Check the addresses your browser exposes

  1. Connect to your VPN, then open the VPN Leak Test in the browser you use for calls.
  2. Read the report for the public address or addresses it detects. The test checks whether IPv6 or WebRTC reveals an address outside the VPN connection.
  3. Note whether the report shows an address associated with your VPN connection, or flags an address that may belong to your internet provider, workplace, or mobile carrier.
  4. If you want a comparison, run the test with the VPN disconnected, then reconnect the VPN and run it again. Keep the VPN on for any call where you rely on it for privacy.

A public IP address is the address a service on the internet can see for your connection. It might belong to your internet provider, your employer’s network, a mobile carrier, or the VPN server. Several devices can share one public address through a router, so it does not identify one particular laptop or phone by itself.

What the result means

The test shows only an address associated with your VPN

The test did not find your real address through the IPv6 or WebRTC checks it performs. That is a reassuring result for this browser and connection, but it does not prove that a video-call app cannot learn your address through a different route or from its own account and network records.

The report shows an address outside the VPN

This may indicate that some browser traffic is bypassing the VPN. An IPv6 route can sometimes use your regular connection even while other traffic goes through the VPN. A WebRTC address may also reveal network information to a website or service. The address alone does not tell you that every call participant can see it.

The address looks unfamiliar or stays the same

An unfamiliar address may be the VPN’s exit server, a shared carrier address, or a company gateway. If the address appears unchanged with the VPN on and off, check that the VPN is connected and that it covers the browser you tested. Some VPN products route only selected apps or browser traffic.

No leak is reported, but you are still unsure

Browsers and VPNs handle WebRTC differently, and some browsers conceal local network addresses. A test that finds no leak means no leak was detected by that check, not that every kind of address exposure is impossible. The video-call service may also use its own relay servers.

How to reduce the chance of an address leak

  1. Confirm the VPN is connected before joining. On Windows 11, check Settings › Network & internet › VPN. On macOS, check System Settings › VPN, or open System Settings › Network and select the VPN service if it is listed there. On an iPhone, check Settings › VPN. On Android, check Settings › Network & internet › VPN; labels can vary by device.
  2. Check whether the VPN covers your browser. A browser-only extension or proxy may protect only some traffic. In your VPN app, look for whether it routes all device traffic or only selected apps. If it offers a setting to block traffic when the VPN disconnects, consider enabling it for calls where a disconnect would matter.
  3. Review IPv6 handling. If the test flags an IPv6 address outside the VPN, check whether your VPN supports routing or blocking IPv6. Use the VPN’s own settings or support instructions rather than changing network settings at random.
  4. Check split tunneling. Split tunneling sends chosen apps outside the VPN. If your browser or call app is excluded, its connection may use your ordinary public address. Add the relevant app to the VPN route if that is the behavior you want.
  5. Retest after changing one setting. Run the VPN Leak Test again in the same browser. Changing one thing at a time makes it easier to see which setting affected the result.
  6. Check the call service separately. Join a test call or review the service’s privacy and network settings. A browser-based leak check is not a report of what that specific service shares with its servers or participants.

Who can see your address on a group call?

A four-person call does not automatically mean that each person can see the other three participants’ public IP addresses. Many call services send each person’s audio and video to a relay server, which forwards the media to the group. In that setup, other participants may connect to the service’s server rather than directly to your device.

Some calls can use direct peer-to-peer connections, or switch between direct and relayed connections. WebRTC, the browser technology used for real-time audio and video, can use network addresses to establish a connection. Which addresses are exposed to the service or to another participant depends on the browser, VPN, and call service. The VPN Leak Test checks what is exposed through your browser’s IPv6 and WebRTC paths, but it does not inspect a particular call’s network design.

An IP address can usually point to an internet provider or a rough region, but it normally does not reveal a precise home address on its own. A VPN can replace the address seen by many internet services with the VPN server’s address, though account details or other information can still identify you.

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