Proxy Check

Detect whether an IP address is using a proxy, VPN, Tor, or is a datacenter/hosting IP. Leave blank to check your own IP address.

Datacenter / Hosting IP

This IP belongs to a hosting or cloud provider, not a residential ISP.

Results for 216.73.216.179

IP Address 216.73.216.179
Proxy / VPN No proxy detected
Datacenter / Hosting Yes — Cloud/Hosting IP
Mobile Network No
Country United States
Region / City Ohio, Columbus
ISP Amazon.com
Organization Anthropic, PBC
AS Number AS16509 Amazon.com, Inc.

Detection uses IP reputation databases. VPNs using residential IPs may not be detected.

Understanding Proxy and VPN Detection

What is a Proxy?

A proxy server routes your traffic through an intermediary, hiding your real IP. Proxies are used for privacy, bypassing geo-restrictions, content filtering, and web scraping. HTTP proxies, SOCKS proxies, and transparent proxies all show different detection signatures.

Proxy vs. VPN vs. Tor

  • Proxy: Routes specific app traffic; usually no encryption; fast
  • VPN: Encrypts all traffic at OS level; stronger privacy
  • Tor: Anonymity network with multiple relays; very slow but high anonymity
  • Datacenter IP: Cloud/hosting provider IP, often used by bots and proxies

How Proxy Detection Works

Proxy detection checks if the IP belongs to a known VPN provider, data center, Tor exit node, or anonymous proxy service using IP reputation databases. It also checks for mismatches between claimed location and actual routing paths.

Limitations

Residential proxies (real home IPs resold by proxy services) are much harder to detect since they look like legitimate users. Detection accuracy is highest for datacenter IPs and known VPN exit nodes.

Frequently Asked Questions

A proxy server acts as a middleman between your device and the internet, masking your real IP address. Websites see the proxy's IP instead of yours.

A proxy routes specific app traffic without encryption. A VPN encrypts all traffic at OS level for stronger privacy and security. VPNs are generally more reliable for complete anonymity.

Yes. Services use IP reputation databases to detect VPNs by checking if the IP belongs to a known VPN provider or datacenter. Residential VPNs are harder to detect.

A datacenter IP belongs to a cloud or hosting provider (AWS, DigitalOcean, etc.) rather than a residential ISP. Most proxy and VPN services use datacenter IPs, making them easy to detect.