Frequently asked questions
The questions we get most often about detection, limits and billing.
What does Guarda actually detect?
For any IPv4 or IPv6 address we return the network owner (ASN and organisation), geolocation, and whether the connection looks like a commercial VPN, an open or datacenter proxy, a TOR exit node, hosting infrastructure or an ordinary consumer ISP — plus a 0–100 risk score summarising those signals.
How fast is a lookup?
Typical API responses land in tens of milliseconds. Results are cached for a configurable window, so repeated lookups of the same address are served from cache and never re-billed against your upstream latency budget.
Do you support batch lookups?
Yes. The dashboard has a batch tool for pasting a list of addresses, and the API accepts multiple addresses per request so you can score a log file or a signup cohort in one pass.
Is there a free plan?
Yes. Free accounts include a daily lookup allowance that is enough for testing and low-volume use, and the tools on this site are free without an account. Paid plans raise the daily limit and add higher rate limits.
How accurate is the geolocation?
Country-level accuracy is high; city-level accuracy varies by carrier and is weakest on mobile networks, where a subscriber can appear hundreds of kilometres from their real location. Treat city as a hint and country as the reliable field.
Why is my own address flagged as a proxy or VPN?
Usually because your traffic exits through a VPN client, a corporate tunnel, a privacy relay or a mobile carrier that routes through datacenter space. That is a correct description of the network path, not an accusation — it is up to your policy how much weight to give it.
Can I use this to block users?
You can, but we recommend graduated responses: allow, challenge, review, block. Hard-blocking everything flagged as VPN will also block privacy-conscious paying customers and remote workers on corporate tunnels.
Do you store the addresses I look up?
Lookups made from your account are recorded so you can see usage and history in the dashboard, and results are cached to keep the service fast. We do not sell lookup data or use it to profile end users.
Which payment methods do you accept?
We accept major bank cards (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) and cryptocurrency (Bitcoin, Ethereum, USDT and many more). We do not accept PayPal. Plans are one-time payments in USD, excluding applicable taxes; see the refund policy for details. The live list of payment options is always shown at checkout.
Do plans renew automatically?
No. Every paid plan is a one-time payment for a fixed period — there is no subscription and no automatic charge. When the period ends your account simply reverts to the free allowance until you buy again.
Still stuck? Contact the team or read the API documentation.