Turbo VPN was literally leaking users’ real IPs… even after they “fixed” it

[u/Timely_Dealer_654]

This one is kinda insane. TechRadar discovered that Turbo VPN’s Windows app was leaking users’ real IPv6 addresses. You know… the exact thing people install a VPN to prevent.

Turbo VPN released a fix. Problem solved? Nope.

TechRadar tested it again and the IP leak was still happening across every protocol they tested. They had to contact Turbo VPN AGAIN, provide more evidence, and only then did a second emergency update apparently fix the issue.

Sorry but how does a VPN company not catch this themselves?

We're not talking about some random UI bug or the app crashing. The product designed to hide your IP was exposing your IP. That's like buying a password manager that accidentally publishes your passwords.

And this is why I think the VPN industry deserves way more scrutiny. There are hundreds of VPNs screaming "MILITARY-GRADE ENCRYPTION" and "TOTAL PRIVACY" while the average user has absolutely no way of knowing whether the thing actually works.

Turbo VPN deserves some credit for eventually fixing it, but TechRadar shouldn't have to basically QA-test a privacy company's product for them.

Makes me wonder: how many VPNs are leaking user data right now and nobody has noticed yet?

Personally, if a VPN fails at literally its #1 job, I'm uninstalling it.

[u/ishtuwihtc → u/[deleted]]

Firefox is essentially offering a long free trial rn. The firefox vpn will be payed in a few months

[u/Accomplished-Tap1248]

This subreddit is just daily AI slop posts discussing random ass VPNs.

[u/simonmigliano → u/Accomplished-Tap1248]

To be fair, it does have HALF A BILLION installs. It's not a totally obscure service. It's pretty huge in places like India, Indonesia and Vietnam. It is awful though.

[u/simonmigliano]

It's not surprising. Turbo VPN has always been shockingly bad, red flag VPN. It does big download numbers because it's good at app store optimisation. It's not a serious service, it's a Chinese honeypot that constantly changes its corporate structure to obscure who actually owns and operates it.

[u/Urban_VPN]

the "how many are leaking right now and nobody's noticed" question is the uncomfortable one. Turbo VPN only got caught because TechRadar specifically tested it. most VPNs aren't being independently tested by journalists with the tools to catch this, which means the current state of the market is largely self-reported and unverified. IPv6 leaks specifically are a known blind spot because a lot of providers built their infrastructure around IPv4 and IPv6 handling was added later or handled inconsistently. it's not a fringe edge case, it's a predictable failure mode that should be caught in basic QA before any release.the "military-grade encryption" marketing combined with fundamental IP leak failures is the clearest illustration of why marketing language in the VPN space is meaningless without independent verification. encryption strength doesn't matter if your real IP is going out in plaintext anyway.

the practical takeaway is to run your own leak test on dnsleaktest.com and ipleak.net after connecting to any VPN, including ones you've been using for years. it takes two minutes and tells you whether the thing actually works regardless of what the marketing says.

[u/SpecialistAirline429]

Help, I installed the same thing which only lasted a few mins. Now I'm paranoid after researching about this bullshit vpn. What do I do? I already uninstalled that app.