I've been using a proxy in Chrome for some work-related browsing, and everything seemed fine until I ran a couple of privacy tests. The regular IP checker shows the proxy address, but a WebRTC test is still picking up my actual public IP. I assumed that once the browser was configured to use a proxy, websites wouldn't be able to see my normal connection anymore. I've seen people recommend disabling WebRTC completely, but I don't want to break video calls or other browser features just to fix this. Why does this happen, and is there a way to stop WebRTC from exposing my real IP without turning it off entirely?
People are sometimes way too quick to recommend switching browser features off whenever something goes wrong. Then you get to your next video meeting and discover that half the things you normally use aren't working anymore. WebRTC doesn't have to be disabled completely to deal with an IP leak. Some browser privacy extensions let you restrict direct WebRTC connections while keeping the feature available for calls. That's the kind of protection worth looking for, though it's still worth testing afterward to make sure your real IP stays hidden.
And be careful with old Chrome tutorials floating around the internet. Half the screenshots don't match the current browser anymore, and some settings have moved or disappeared completely. There's more about what a WebRTC leak is here: https://gologin.com/blog/what-is-a-webrtc-leak/ . After changing the WebRTC handling, run the test again and check specifically whether your real public IP still appears. Local or masked addresses may still show up in the results without your actual public IP being exposed.
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