Is CyberGhost Leaking Your Real IP?
First, the quick question: does your traffic leave through CyberGhost’s network at all? Then the full test checks IPv4, IPv6, DNS, WebRTC and geolocation - the five channels that can expose you while the app still reports a healthy connection.
Reads your IPv4 and IPv6 addresses from ipify, then looks up the network behind each one via ip-api.com. Your addresses are not stored.
What This Test Tells You About CyberGhost
CyberGhost runs its own DNS resolvers and keeps its kill switch permanently enabled on Windows, with no user toggle to disable it. That removes the mistake of leaving it off, but it also means the kill switch cannot be turned off when it interferes with a local network service.
The result you see above measures your own connection, right now - your device, your operating system, your version of the app and the server you happen to be on. It is not a verdict on CyberGhost as a product, and it is not a lab benchmark. Leak behaviour varies enormously between platforms and client versions, which is precisely why measuring your own setup beats reading anyone’s provider ranking.
Supported protocols: WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2
CyberGhost Settings That Affect Leak Results
Before concluding anything from a failed row, check these: a setting can be the explanation, and it is quicker to rule out than a defect.
| Setting | Where to find it | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Kill switch | Always on (Windows) | Not user-configurable in the Windows client. Verify the behaviour rather than looking for a setting. |
| Protocol | Settings → Connection | WireGuard is the default. |
| Content blocker | Settings → Privacy | Blocks ads and trackers at DNS level, changing which resolver answers. |
| Split tunneling | Settings → Connection (Windows/Android) | Excluded apps deliberately use your real IP. |
Settings as described in CyberGhost’s own apps and help pages. Menus move between app versions - check yours. If a control is not where this table says, search the app’s settings for the nearest equivalent term rather than assuming the feature is absent.
Common CyberGhost Leak Scenarios
Local network devices unreachable
The always-on kill switch blocks non-tunnel traffic, which includes printers and NAS devices on your LAN. This is expected behaviour rather than a fault.
The DNS row shows an unexpected resolver
Check whether the content blocker is active - it redirects queries to a filtering resolver by design.
An IPv6 address appears
CyberGhost blocks IPv6 rather than tunnelling it. Any IPv6 address means the block is not covering your interface; disabling IPv6 at OS level is the definitive fix.
How to Read Your Results
Expand any row to see the raw values. The single most reliable way to interpret an ambiguous result is to run the test twice - once with CyberGhost disconnected, once connected. Any address or resolver identical across both runs is travelling outside the tunnel.
- IPv4: the ISP and organisation fields should name CyberGhost or its hosting partners, not your home ISP.
- DNS: resolvers should sit in the same network as your CyberGhost exit. Your ISP’s name, or a public resolver such as
1.1.1.1, means your lookups are leaving the tunnel - even if you chose that resolver deliberately, this test reports it as a leak. - WebRTC: a
192.168.x.xor10.x.x.xaddress is your local network and harmless. A public address differing from your exit IP is a real leak. - IPv6: either nothing at all, or an address on VPN or hosting infrastructure. One on your ISP’s network while IPv4 goes through CyberGhost escaped the tunnel.
- Geolocation: your browser timezone should be on the same continent as the exit. A mismatch does not expose your IP, but it tells a site the address is not where you are.
Why a Connected VPN Can Still Leak
The word “connected” in any VPN client describes one thing: the IPv4 tunnel came up. It says nothing about DNS resolution, IPv6 routing or WebRTC, each of which uses a different part of the operating system and can bypass the tunnel independently. A client that fails to capture them will still display a green badge.
This is why single-number IP checkers are misleading. They query one endpoint over IPv4, see the VPN’s address, and report success - while DNS queries go to your ISP and your IPv6 prefix identifies your household to every site that supports it.
Re-test after anything that touches the network stack: a client update, an OS upgrade, a protocol change or a new server. Those are the moments when leak protection regresses, and a regression produces no visible symptom at all - which is the entire problem.
🧰 Test CyberGhost Further
The tests run in your browser. Where one needs to know whose network an address is on, our server looks it up and keeps no address. Nothing is stored unless you choose to share the result.
📚 Read next
The longer version: what this test is looking for, and what to do with the answer.
CyberGhost Leak Test - FAQ
Provider-specific questions about CyberGhost, its settings, and what a failed check actually means.
Can I turn off CyberGhost’s kill switch?
Not in the Windows client, where it is permanently enabled and has no user-facing toggle. This is defensible - it removes the mistake of leaving it off - but it also means you cannot disable it when it blocks access to local network devices such as a printer or NAS. Disconnecting the VPN is the only workaround.
Does CyberGhost leak DNS?
CyberGhost operates its own resolvers and routes DNS through the tunnel, so a healthy connection shows CyberGhost-operated servers. If the content blocker is enabled you will see a filtering resolver instead, which is expected. A genuine leak shows your ISP’s resolver and can trace to a system-level DNS override or browser DNS-over-HTTPS.
Why can I not reach my printer with CyberGhost connected?
The always-on kill switch blocks all traffic that does not go through the tunnel, and local network traffic falls into that category. Some providers offer a “allow local network access” exception; where CyberGhost does not expose one on your platform, disconnecting the VPN is the only way to reach LAN devices.
Does CyberGhost support IPv6?
No - it blocks IPv6 traffic rather than carrying it through the tunnel. On a correctly working setup the test above shows no IPv6 address at all. If one does appear, the client’s block is not covering your network interface, and disabling IPv6 in your operating system settings is the reliable fix.
How do I test CyberGhost for leaks?
Connect to CyberGhost as you normally would, then run the test at the top of this page. It checks IPv4, IPv6, DNS, WebRTC and geolocation consistency in a single pass. For a definitive reading, run it once disconnected and once connected - any address or resolver that stays the same across both runs never entered the tunnel.
Do you store my CyberGhost test results?
Not unless you ask us to. The checks run in your browser - only the lookup of which network an address belongs to goes through our server, which keeps no address - and by default the results exist only in the page in front of you; closing the tab discards them. After a test you can tick a box to share the result anonymously for our public VPN database; it is off by default. When you do share, we store the outcome, your VPN provider, the exit network, country and city, your browser and OS family, and where your visit came from - never your IP address. The privacy page lists every field.
Is this page affiliated with CyberGhost?
No. VPNMeter is independent and this page is not endorsed by or connected to CyberGhost. We describe settings you can verify in the app yourself, and the test measures your own connection rather than reporting results from a lab. Provider and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.