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What Is PIA’s Leak Protection Feature on iOS? - Knowledgebase / Technical / Application Settings and Features / Application & Features - PIA Support Portal

What Is PIA’s Leak Protection Feature on iOS?

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This guide will explain how the network protection feature works on the Private Internet Access iOS app.

The PIA iOS app has an in-built feature called Leak Protection which will enhance your digital security. If you connect your iOS device to a unsecure Wi-Fi network that has a malicious access point, your traffic could leak in cleartext. 

You can mitigate security risks by enabling PIA’s Leak Protection, which will automatically push all traffic through the VPN tunnel.

Note: Enabling this feature might cause features like AirDrop to not work correctly. 

Follow these steps to turn on Leak Protection:

  1. In the app, tap the hamburger icon in the upper left-hand corner.
  2. Choose Settings.
  3. Choose Privacy Features.
  4. Toggle Leak Protection on.

Note: The Leak Protection feature is currently unavailable with WireGuard and OpenVPN. Please change the protocol if you do not see this option under Privacy Features.

To protect you from data leaks, the PIA iOS app will disconnect you from other devices on your Wi-Fi network as long as your traffic is redirected through the VPN tunnel. If you are connected to a trusted network, you can choose to stay connected to these devices by toggling on Allow access to devices on local network. This feature will alert you every time you connect to a potentially malicious network.