AI-generated editorial illustration; not a documentary photograph.
A Lifehacker explanation published on September 21, 2026, warns that WebRTC traffic may reveal a user's public IP address even while a VPN is active. The issue affects a browser communication feature used for video calls, voice services, livestreaming and screen sharing, so preventing the exposure can also disrupt those functions.
Why the VPN may be bypassed
Web Real-Time Communication establishes direct peer-to-peer connections for high-bandwidth transfers. According to Lifehacker, it can send traffic over User Datagram Protocol rather than through the encrypted TCP tunnel used by a VPN. That separate route may expose the public IP address that the VPN is intended to conceal.
WebRTC is enabled by default in major browsers, including Chrome and other Chromium-based browsers, Firefox, Edge, Opera and Safari. Incognito mode does not disable it. Some VPN providers add firewalls, kill switches or dedicated WebRTC leak protection, but those controls may require manual configuration.
Testing for an exposed address
Users can check their configuration by connecting to the VPN and running a WebRTC test through BrowserLeaks or IPLeaks. The relevant result is the public IP shown in the WebRTC section: an address that differs from the VPN's remote IP, or matches the user's actual connection, indicates that the browser is leaking identifying network information.
Browser controls differ
Firefox provides a native switch through about:config: setting media.peerconnection.enabled to false disables WebRTC entirely. Chrome has no equivalent built-in toggle, so the source recommends a carefully selected extension configured to disable non-proxied UDP. Edge can use similar Chromium extensions, while an experimental edge://flags option can anonymize local IP addresses exposed through WebRTC.
Extensions deserve scrutiny because a WebRTC control should not need broad access to browsing history or page contents. After changing any setting, users should repeat the leak test with the VPN connected rather than assuming the adjustment worked.
Privacy comes with a tradeoff
Disabling WebRTC can break browser-based services such as Google Meet and Discord. Lifehacker therefore suggests treating the setting as a privacy control that may need to be toggled for sensitive browsing and restored when a trusted call or other real-time service requires it. The article does not present the measure as protection against every form of tracking, including browser fingerprinting.
Source: Even a VPN Can't Protect You From This Browser Security Flaw
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