iOS leaking IP?

[trekkie.forever 6]

I am connected to an airvpn server (through my carrier, not wifi) on my iPhone through openvpn-connect as confirmed by opening ipleak.net or tracemyip.net

 

However, when I open the battery app on iOS downloaded from the App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/battery-doctor-must-have-battery/id615987910?mt=8 and go to the system page which shows miscellaneous info about my phone, it shows my carrier ip.

 

How is the app getting this information? Can this not be used by other iOS apps even while connected to AirVPN servers thereby resulting in location leaks?

[pfSense_fan 181]

I am connected to an airvpn server (through my carrier, not wifi) on my iPhone through openvpn-connect as confirmed by opening ipleak.net or tracemyip.net

 

However, when I open the battery app on iOS downloaded from the App Store at https://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/battery-doctor-must-have-battery/id615987910?mt=8 and go to the system page which shows miscellaneous info about my phone, it shows my carrier ip.

 

How is the app getting this information? Can this not be used by other iOS apps even while connected to AirVPN servers thereby resulting in location leaks?

 

 

Provided ipleak and dns leak tests results return okay results, it is not likely that you are leaking.

 

Even though you are connected to the vpn, you must remember you are connecting THROUGH your carrier, so you are still connected and must carry an ip from them as well. That is the connection you are then tunneling through. It is scary, I know, seeing that ip there in certain apps... but don't lose sleep as long as other tests come back saying you are indeed connected to the vpn.

 

Cheers.

[SlyFox 10]

The main problem I have with iOS is the sleep function. Anytime your phone is locked the wifi or LTE connection is put to sleep and the openvpn connect app is no longer active. You are not actually connected to the vpn anymore. You unlock the iphone and there is a lag time of anywhere from 5-10 seconds where it's reconnecting to the vpn. If you quickly open up ipleak right after you unlock your phone you will see your IP not the vpn. Wait 10 seconds and refresh and the vpn is back. This isn't a problem with openvpn connct app it's an issue with iOS 7.

[strideram 11]

Hi,

 

As pfsense_fan mentioned, there are no issues as long ipleak.net and other such sites return the AirVPN IP instead of your ISP IP. Regarding why the locally installed app is able to see your ISP IP, well its because its locally installed. Because you are connected to the ISP, the network card on your phone has a reference to the ISP IP. Any app installed locally on your phone, with the proper permissions, can query the network adapter for its IP and report it. However, if those apps try to access the internet, the routes setup by your vpn client will force the traffic to flow via the AirVPN IP and not directly via the ISP IP.  As an aside, if you disable the 3G/4G, enable the wifi on your phone, connect to a router and then open the battery app, it will show you some local `192.168.1.2` type ip instead of the ISP IP.

[trekkie.forever 6]

Thanks for the perspectives from @strideram, @SlyFox and @pfSense_fan.

 

Definitely something to be aware of in that Apps can possibly leak location and other info even when routed through the VPN tunnel and yes, using wifi maybe a safer setting as @strideram mentioned.

[woodgie 0]

I'm running Eddie on Window 10 and creating a hotspot. My iPhone connects to this but is returning an WinRTC IPLEAK - it is not leaking on the host Windows 10 PC. How do I stop iOS leaking the IP? I have put the phone on airplane mode and rebooted the phone, it still shows the leak.