6.1 VPN Detection
Service: VPNDetectionService
What it does: Detects if a VPN connection is currently active on your device.
Technical Implementation
- Checks network interfaces for VPN tunnels (utun, ipsec, ppp, tap, tun)
- Uses
CFNetworkCopySystemProxySettings to inspect scoped network interfaces
- No special entitlements required — works within standard iOS sandbox
What is Checked
- VPN connection active status (active tunnel detected)
- VPN tunnel type identification (IPSec, IKEv2, WireGuard, OpenVPN)
- Educational information about what VPN providers can see
- Privacy risks of using untrusted VPN services
- Tips for choosing a trustworthy VPN provider
Privacy Education
The VPN Detection tool also educates users about:
- What data a VPN provider can access (all your traffic)
- Risks of free VPN services (data selling, logging)
- How to verify a VPN is actually encrypting your traffic
- Recommendations for protecting your privacy with VPNs