Last updated: 14 September 2026
In short: some links on ExamineIP earn a commission if you buy something. You pay the same price either way. Commissions never decide what gets recommended, and no page on this site claims testing that wasn’t done. This page lists every program, how to recognise the links, and what they track.
How ExamineIP is funded
The guides and tools are free and need no account. Running them costs money — hosting, the servers behind the tools, and a lot of time — so the site is paid for in a few ways:
- Affiliate commissions from the programs listed below.
- Books written by ExamineIP and sold on Amazon, which earn a royalty.
- Donations made voluntarily through PayPal.
- Advertising, which the site may show through Google AdSense.
Affiliate programs
ExamineIP currently has affiliate links for these companies:
| Company | What it sells | Where you’ll see it |
|---|---|---|
| PureVPN | VPN service | VPN guides and the PureVPN review |
| IPVanish | VPN service | VPN guides |
| Proxy-Seller | Proxy servers | Proxy guides, the Proxy-Seller review and setup guide, some tool pages |
| Bitdefender | Security software | Security guides |
| Namecheap | Domains and web hosting | Web and hosting guides |
| Shopify | E-commerce platform | The Shopify security guide |
If you buy through one of these links, the company pays ExamineIP a commission. The price you pay is the same as going to the company directly.
Discount codes
Where a partner offers ExamineIP readers a code — such as EXAMINEIP for Proxy-Seller — the
discount is applied at the partner’s checkout. Using the code also tells the partner the sale came from
ExamineIP.
How to recognise an affiliate link
- The address. Affiliate links go through a redirect on this site first, so they start
with
examineip.com/go/— for exampleexamineip.com/go/purevpn. Hover over a link to see where it points. - A notice on the page. Articles that contain affiliate links say so near the top.
- A label for search engines. Affiliate links carry
rel="sponsored", the standard way of telling search engines a link is paid.
What commissions don’t change
- No invented testing. You won’t find claims that ExamineIP tested products it didn’t test, and no scores, pass rates or speed percentages presented as measurements.
- Downsides stay in. Reviews cover a partner’s weaknesses and history, including ones that make a sale less likely.
- You’re given a way to check. Where it’s possible, a page tells you how to verify a product yourself — often with the free tools on this site, inside the partner’s refund window.
- Non-partners get fair mention. Guides name alternatives ExamineIP earns nothing from when they’re a better fit.
- No paid placements. Companies can’t pay to be recommended or to have a review changed. If sponsored content is ever published, it will be clearly labelled as sponsored at the top.
What affiliate links track
When you click an affiliate link, the redirect on this site records the click — the link, the time, your IP address, your browser, and the page you came from — and sets small cookies so one click isn’t counted twice. The partner’s website then sets its own tracking cookie so it can credit the sale to ExamineIP. The details, including cookie names and how long they last, are in the privacy policy and the cookie policy.
If you’d rather a purchase wasn’t credited to ExamineIP, go to the company’s website directly instead of using the link. Nothing else about the product changes.
Books, donations and advertising
Books. Links to books on Amazon point to books written by ExamineIP. They aren’t Amazon affiliate links; ExamineIP earns the author’s royalty when a book sells.
Donations. Donations through PayPal are voluntary. They don’t buy influence over what is written, or any other benefit.
Advertising. If the site shows ads, they are chosen by Google, not by ExamineIP, and they aren’t endorsements.
Your purchase is with the company
Anything you buy through an affiliate link is a contract between you and that company, under its terms, refund policy and privacy policy. ExamineIP doesn’t handle orders, payments or support for partner products. Check the current price, renewal terms and refund conditions on the partner’s site before you pay.
Questions
If something on the site looks like it’s pushing a product unfairly, or you have a question about any partnership, email contact@examineip.com.