VPN leaks may allow malicious parties to find information about your browsing activity, your device, and even yourself. ISPs, for instance, can view all your traffic, as well as the device you’re using. You can identify mobile VPN leaks using a Rasperry Pi, OpenWRT, and Wireshark. Once you identify whether your mobile VPN is leaking or not, you can then fix it using Android debug bridge (adb) on Android and Windows. In case your VPN leak is caused by your mobile OS, which is highly likely, there are some (easy) fixes you can try, such as:
Using airplane mode to stop processes that started before you turned on your VPN Disabling connectivity checks on Android using Android debug bridge (adb) Getting a VPN router to protect all your data traffic on any device
The best VPN you can use to prevent the risk of a mobile VPN leak is to use NordVPN. It offers AES 256-bit encryption, and ensures that your traffic is fully encrypted before passing through the encryption tunnel. However, there’s always the risk of a mobile VPN leak that could expose your data. This could prove to be serious, and malicious actors may end up stealing your personal information. Depending on your online activities, this could pose some serious danger. Understanding mobile VPN leaks and the dangers that they pose is important, as it allows you to take steps to protect yourself and keep your identity safe.
What is a Mobile VPN leak?
A mobile VPN leak occurs when your VPN fails to properly pass your connection through an encryption tunnel, thus exposing your IP address, DNS requests, or browsing activity. ISPs, government trackers, or data harvesters might be able to access your information in this case. This can prove to be a serious issue, especially if you’re visiting a prohibited site, or are in a country that that prohibits VPN use, such as China. If you’re sharing sensitive information, a VPN leak could expose your identity.
What causes a mobile VPN leak on Android?
You’d be surprised to know that a mobile VPN leak isn’t always caused by an issue with your VPN. In some cases, a mobile VPN leak might occur because of the operating system you use it on. On Android, for instance, the issue arises from a built-in OS feature: connectivity checks. These checks consist of small, automated data transfers. These small “data packages” provide applications with network connectivity information about your device. Essentially, connectivity checks allow apps running in the background, such as social media apps or messaging apps, to check whether you’re connected to the internet. This is an important requirement, since it allows apps to send out push notifications at the correct time. If you’re not always connected to a VPN on your phone, these connectivity checks can end up revealing personal information about your device. For instance, if you have a browser tab open in the background, and turn off your VPN, a connectivity check may end up revealing accurate information about your connection. In extreme cases, this could prove to be serious too.
What causes a mobile VPN leak on iOS?
Just like Android, iOS has some inherent issues that can cause VPN leaks. These can be summarized as follows:
The Dangers of a Mobile VPN Leak
A leaking VPN connection can lead to some serious privacy and security disasters, such as the ones below.
Hackers and malicious parties tracking your unencrypted traffic
This is probably the worst-case scenario as far as VPN leaks go. As mentioned, some apps may completely bypass your VPN connection, especially internal operating system processes. This obviously poses a major security risk, especially if you’re on a public network. This means malicious parties on the same network, such as hackers, can see all your traffic. In case you’re accessing a banned website, this could land you in trouble. Similarly, someone with malicious intent could track your browsing activity, which poses a serious privacy risk.
(Malicious) parties finding out your IP, DNS requests, and other information
Fortunately, VPNs encrypt your data before transmission. Therefore, if a VPN leak causes your traffic to “merely” bypass your VPN tunnel, it’s still going to be encrypted and not easily readable. However, malicious parties can still use this information to gather information about you, such as your approximate location or your device type. If another app leaks more information, your real IP address might be exposed too. Moreover, in the case of a DNS leak, your DNS queries will go straight to your internet service provider. That is to say, instead of your VPN relaying your DNS requests to their own DNS servers. As a result, your ISP will be able to track your browsing activity. In certain countries, such as China, they could relay this information to the government too.
Mobile VPN Leak Test: Using a Raspberry Pi, OpenWRT, and Wireshark
Spotting a mobile VPN leak can often be a bit more difficult than its desktop equivalent, since only a few apps might be transmitting data outside the VPN tunnel. This means that doing a regular DNS leak test or WebRTC leak test in your browser (which is just one app) might not cut it. We’ll discuss a VPN leak test in this article that has a much better chance of detecting mobile VPN leaks. This method requires a Raspberry Pi, Linux’s OpenWRT distribution, and Wireshark, a network protocol analyzer. Essentially, the aim is to use your Raspberry Pi and OpenWRT to act as a “bridge” between your device and your Wi-Fi network. OpenWRT will be able to capture your traffic. After, you’ll be able to analyze this traffic using Wireshark and see what data, if any, your VPN is leaking. Note: You will also need an empty USB stick or SD card for this method.
1. Install Wireshark on your PC or Mac
The first step is to install Wireshark on your computer. Here’s how to do it:
2. Install OpenWRT on Raspberry Pi
Now that you have Wireshark installed, we’ll look at how to install OpenWRT on your Raspberry Pi.
3. Set up OpenWRT
You’re now all ready to start up your Raspberry Pi and use OpenWRT. You’ll just need to set it up. Here’s how to do so:
4. Using OpenWRT to capture your mobile traffic
Now, it’s time to capture your mobile traffic using OpenWRT. Follow these steps:
How to Fix Mobile VPN Leaks
In this section, we’ll focus on how to fix a VPN leak on mobile, in case you spotted any using the method above. We’ll discuss two methods you can try out to fix your VPN leak.
Fix Android VPN leaks using Android debug bridge (adb)
Android debug bridge (adb) is a program that allows you to make certain (advanced) modifications to your Android device. One of these modifications is altering or disabling connectivity checks from different apps. This is generally what causes mobile VPN leaks. First, you will need to configure your phone to grant adb access to it. Follow the steps below to do so.
Configuring adb on Android
You’ve now gone through the most important part of the adb phone setup. Now it’s time to set up adb on your PC. Follow the steps below to do so.
Set up adb on Windows
Set up adb on macOS
Now that you’ve installed adb on your PC, you’re all set to start using it to fix mobile VPN leaks.
Disable connectivity checks on Android using adb
Whether or not Android performs connectivity checks, is governed by the captive portal mode setting. A captive portal is essentially the screen you get to see when you connect to a guest network, like Wi-Fi at Starbucks. It’s important to keep your phone connected to your PC during this process. You can set the captive portal mode to one of three values:
0: This will make sure your system doesn’t attempt to detect captive portals. As a result, connectivity checks will be disabled. 1: This is the default setting. It simply directs you to a sign-in page when a captive portal is detected. 2: When a captive portal is detected, this setting will interrupt your network connection. Furthermore, your device will no longer reconnect to this network in the future.
To disable connectivity checks, and, as such, most Android VPN leaks, you have to choose the first option (“0”).
Fix mobile VPN leaks using a VPN router
Using a VPN router is a great way to fix mobile VPN leaks, especially if you’re connected to your home network. By putting your router in charge of securing your network connection, any internal flaws in your mobile OS can no longer cause data leaks. That’s what makes VPN routers so useful in combatting VPN leaks. Of course, this method will only work as long as you’re able to gain admin access to your VPN router. Therefore, it’s not a useful solution for people who are on the move a lot and often connect to public WiFi networks. Generally, some routers are inherently safer than others. You can browse through our list of the very best VPN routers to find the best one for your needs.
NordVPN: The Best VPN to Prevent Mobile VPN Leaks on Android
Unfortunately, no VPN provider can address the inherent Android OS flaws that cause VPN leaks. However, a trustworthy VPN provider can significantly improve the overall privacy and security within the Android framework. In our opinion, few VPN providers do this as well as NordVPN. NordVPN has a dedicated VPN app for both Android and iOS. It also offers a range of features with a focus on privacy and security, including:
AES 256-bit encryption Top VPN protocols (NordLynx, IKEv2/IPsec, and OpenVPN) Obfuscated servers DNS and WebRTC leak protection
DNS leak protection will greatly reduce the chance of your ISP and other parties seeing what websites you visit. WebRTC leak protection aims to prevent your real IP address from being exposed this way. NordVPN offers the possibility to connect up to six devices concurrently. NordVPN doesn’t just protect you from mobile leaks, but it also helps you unblock Lastly, for those wanting some entertainment use out of their VPN, NordVPN is able to unblock many streaming services. Among these are Netflix, Hulu, HBO Max, and many others. It also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can also use the NordVPN free trial which unlocks all features of the VPN, so you can really experience the benefits it offers.
Surfshark: The Best VPN to Prevent Mobile VPN Leaks on iOS
There are several great VPNs for iOS that greatly limit the chance of “non-iOS-induced” VPN leaks. At the top of this list is Surfshark, which also has dedicated apps for iOS and Android. Surfshark offers an array of different privacy-focused features, including:
Kill switch and split tunneling WireGuard, OpenVPN, IKEv2 protocol support DNS and WebRTC leak protection AES 256-bit encryption
Surfshark also offers some advanced VPN leak detection capabilities. It offers tests for both DNS leaks and WebRTC leaks. This is a useful feature to prevent any major VPN leaks and regularly test your device. Another great advantage of Surfshark is that it allows for an unlimited number of simultaneous connections. As such, you can use one account with as many devices as you want. Lastly, Surfshark is one of the most affordable premium VPN providers out there. There’s also a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can also go for a Surfshark free trial to check out the VPN for up to 30 days!
The Bottom Line
As we discussed in this article, mobile VPN leaks can be hard to prevent. In fact, often they’re caused by inherent flaws in your mobile operating system. Fortunately, we presented you with a test for VPN leaks on mobile and a few ways to fix them. Do you want to learn more about other VPN vulnerabilities and weaknesses and how to solve or mitigate these? Then be sure to also check out the articles below:
How to Do a VPN Test for Speed and Security My VPN Doesn’t Work: How to Fix the Most Common VPN Issues Disadvantages of a VPN
On the other hand, if your VPN is bypassed altogether and doesn’t encrypt your data, someone could actually obtain your sensitive personal data.
