YRM Prop VPN Policy 2026

YRM Prop enforces a complete ban on Virtual Private Network (VPN) and Virtual Private Server (VPS) usage across all account types without exception.

This absolute prohibition exists to maintain trading location transparency, prevent restricted country circumvention, enable identity verification compliance, and protect against multi-account exploitation schemes that undermine fair evaluation standards. The no-VPN policy applies equally to Challenge accounts during evaluation and Prime/Instant Prime funded accounts after passing, with violations resulting in immediate account termination, forfeiture of all profits including pending payouts, and permanent platform bans regardless of trading performance or stated reasons for VPN usage.

Understanding why this restriction exists and how YRM Prop detects violations prevents unnecessary account losses and helps traveling traders plan alternative solutions. Many prop firms allow VPN usage under certain conditions, making YRM Prop's blanket ban stricter than industry average. This creates challenges for legitimate use cases like privacy protection, unstable residential internet, or international travel, but the firm prioritizes fraud prevention and regulatory compliance over user convenience. Traders who violate the VPN policy often discover the breach only after requesting their first payout when enhanced verification triggers system flags for suspicious IP patterns.

The VPN ban intersects with multiple other YRM Prop rules including the prohibited trading strategies policy that covers account sharing and identity fraud, the maximum accounts limit of three funded accounts per trader, and the geolocation requirements for payment processing through Rise. This comprehensive approach to location verification means even traders with legitimate privacy concerns must choose between using YRM Prop's services or maintaining VPN protection — there is no middle ground or appeal process for violations discovered after the fact.

Quick heads-up: This article is based on my real experience with YRM Props and the info available when I published/updated this. Things change in prop trading — rules, payouts, promos, all of it.

For the absolute latest, check YRM Props´s website or their help center.

Why YRM Prop Bans VPN Usage

Restricted Country Circumvention

YRM Prop prohibits trading from specific countries due to regulatory restrictions, payment processing limitations, and sanctions compliance. The restricted country list typically includes Iran, Russia, and others subject to financial service embargoes or jurisdictions where the firm cannot legally provide services.

VPNs allow traders in banned countries to mask their actual location by routing connections through servers in permitted regions. A trader in Tehran could connect through a New York-based VPN server, making it appear they're accessing YRM Prop from the United States. This circumvention creates multiple legal and operational problems for the firm including potential regulatory violations, payment processing fraud, and inability to enforce sanctions compliance.

YRM Prop's payment processor Rise requires accurate geolocation data for KYC verification and anti-money laundering compliance. When a trader's registration documents show one country but their trading IP addresses originate from different jurisdictions, this mismatch triggers fraud detection systems. The firm cannot risk processing payouts to traders whose actual location conflicts with their stated residence, as this exposes the company to regulatory action and payment processor penalties.

Identity Verification & KYC Compliance

Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations require financial services firms to verify the identity and location of all clients. When traders pass YRM Prop's Starter Challenge and request their first payout from a Prime account, they must complete KYC verification through Rise including government-issued ID, proof of address, and selfie verification.

VPN usage creates discrepancies between declared location (KYC documents) and observed behavior (login IP addresses). If a trader submits a New York driver's license but consistently trades from IP addresses registered to Singapore, London, and Germany over the course of two weeks, this pattern suggests either VPN usage or account sharing. Both scenarios violate firm policies, but distinguishing between them becomes impossible when VPNs mask the true source.

This verification challenge extends to the firm's payout rules which require matching identity between the account owner and withdrawal recipient. When IP geolocation data conflicts with KYC documents, YRM Prop must err on the side of fraud prevention by denying payouts and terminating accounts to protect firm capital and maintain payment processor relationships.

Multi-Account Exploitation Prevention

YRM Prop allows traders to hold up to three funded accounts simultaneously with a combined maximum of $450,000 in capital. The firm tracks account ownership through various methods including email addresses, payment information, KYC documents, device fingerprints, and IP address patterns.

VPNs enable sophisticated traders to operate more than three funded accounts by masking the connection between separately registered profiles. A trader could register five accounts using different email addresses and payment methods, then use VPNs to make each account appear to originate from different locations, defeating the firm's multi-account detection systems.

This exploitation allows traders to bypass position sizing limits, consistency rules, and payout caps by spreading risk across more accounts than permitted. It also enables improper hedging schemes where traders open offsetting positions across multiple accounts to eliminate directional risk while capturing profits on winning accounts. The VPN ban serves as a critical control preventing this type of system gaming.

Account Sharing Detection

Account sharing occurs when the registered account owner allows another person to trade on their behalf. This frequently happens with paid challenge passing services where a third party passes the evaluation for a client, then returns control to the account owner for funded trading. It also occurs in mentor/student arrangements or when traders sell access to their funded accounts.

IP address analysis provides strong evidence of account sharing when logins originate from geographically impossible patterns within short timeframes. If an account logs in from Miami at 9:00 AM EST and from Tokyo at 9:30 AM EST, this strongly suggests either VPN usage or two different people accessing the same account. VPNs make detecting these violations nearly impossible by allowing shared accounts to appear to originate from the same general location.

The firm's ability to maintain fair evaluation standards depends on ensuring one trader per account. When skilled traders pass evaluations for multiple clients using VPN-masked connections, this undermines the entire challenge framework designed to identify traders with genuine edge worthy of firm capital.

How YRM Prop Detects VPN Usage

IP Address Database Matching

YRM Prop cross-references all login IP addresses against commercial databases of known VPN providers including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Private Internet Access, Surfshark, CyberGhost, and hundreds of others. These databases maintain updated lists of IP address ranges owned or leased by VPN companies, allowing instant flagging when connections originate from VPN infrastructure.

Detection example: Trader logs in from IP address 185.xxx.xxx.xxx which database lookup identifies as belonging to NordVPN's Netherlands server cluster. Account flagged for VPN usage regardless of trader's claimed location.

Datacenter IP vs Residential IP

VPN providers typically operate servers in datacenter facilities rather than residential networks. Datacenter IPs have distinct characteristics that distinguish them from home broadband connections including specific autonomous system numbers (ASNs), reverse DNS records, and hosting provider ownership. Sophisticated detection systems identify datacenter IPs even when the specific VPN provider isn't explicitly known.

Traders using residential VPNs (which route connections through real residential IP addresses) have slightly better chances of avoiding immediate detection, but these services are expensive and less common. Most traders use datacenter-based VPN providers which trigger instant flags.

Geographic Inconsistency Patterns

YRM Prop monitors login location patterns over time. When an account shows IP addresses from multiple countries or widely separated cities within short timeframes, this indicates probable VPN usage or account sharing. Even if individual IPs aren't flagged as VPN addresses, the geographic pattern itself raises suspicions.

Red flag pattern: Account logs in from London on Monday, Paris on Tuesday, Frankfurt on Wednesday, Amsterdam on Thursday. While theoretically possible for a traveling trader, this pattern more likely indicates VPN server rotation.

Normal pattern: Account consistently logs in from IP addresses within a 50-mile radius of New York City for three months. This matches expected behavior for a trader residing in that area.

IP Rotation and Shared IP Detection

VPN users frequently change servers to maintain connection speed or avoid overloaded nodes. This creates a pattern where the same account uses different IP addresses across sessions, often jumping between countries or providers. Free VPN services exacerbate this issue by routing multiple users through the same shared IP addresses, creating situations where completely unrelated YRM Prop accounts appear to connect from identical IPs.

When YRM Prop's systems detect two supposedly independent accounts logging in from the same IP address within the same day, this triggers investigation for account sharing, VPN usage, or multi-account violations. The trader may be completely unaware another YRM Prop user shares their VPN server, but both accounts face potential termination.

Browser and Device Fingerprinting

Modern fraud detection systems create unique identifiers for each device and browser configuration based on hundreds of data points including screen resolution, installed fonts, browser plugins, operating system version, hardware specifications, timezone settings, and canvas fingerprinting techniques.

VPN usage often creates mismatches between device fingerprint data and claimed location. If a device fingerprint shows English language settings, US keyboard layout, and PST timezone, but connections consistently originate from IP addresses in Eastern Europe, this inconsistency flags probable VPN usage. The fingerprint data suggests the user is actually in California despite IP addresses claiming Poland.

What Happens When Caught Using VPN

Discovery Timing

Most VPN violations surface during two critical junctures:

First payout request: When traders complete 10 profitable trading days and request withdrawal through Rise, enhanced KYC verification triggers comprehensive review of account history including all historical IP addresses. Suspicious patterns discovered during this audit halt payout processing and initiate investigation.

Random compliance audits: YRM Prop conducts periodic reviews of funded accounts, flagging anomalies for human review. Traders may trade successfully for weeks before compliance team notices VPN patterns and initiates termination procedures.

Immediate Consequences

Once VPN usage is confirmed:

Account termination: Immediate access suspension to Challenge or Prime accounts. No warning issued, no opportunity to explain or rectify. Login credentials immediately deactivated.

Profit forfeiture: All accumulated profits including pending payout requests are forfeited. Trader receives nothing regardless of how much profit generated.

Refund denial: Challenge purchase fees and Instant Prime costs are not refunded. All payments to YRM Prop are final per the firm's no-refund policy.

Permanent ban: Trader's identity is flagged in YRM Prop's database. Email address, name, payment information, and KYC documents blacklisted. Cannot create new accounts even using different email addresses due to cross-referencing systems.

Payment processor block: Rise account associated with the violating trader may be flagged, complicating use of Rise for other prop firms or payment services.

No Appeals Process

YRM Prop's Terms of Service grant the firm sole discretion to terminate accounts for rule violations. There is no formal appeals process, no opportunity to present evidence of legitimate use cases, and no exceptions granted. The decision is final and irreversible.

This strict enforcement applies even when traders claim legitimate reasons like privacy concerns, traveling for work, or using VPN provided by employer. The firm treats all VPN usage as deliberate violation regardless of stated intent.

Alternatives for Traveling Traders

Contact Support Before International Travel

Traders planning international trips should email YRM Prop support BEFORE departure with:

• Travel dates and destination countries
• Expected duration of stay
• Documentation proving legitimate travel (flight bookings, hotel reservations, work assignments)
• Alternative verification methods to confirm identity while abroad

Support may grant temporary permission to trade from specific foreign locations or provide guidance on maintaining account access during travel. This proactive communication creates documented evidence of legitimate travel rather than suspicious activity.

Disable VPN Completely

Traders who use VPN for other internet activities must completely disable VPN connections before accessing YRM Prop platforms. Check IP address using services like whatismyipaddress.com before logging in to ensure residential IP is active.

Create a separate browser profile or use incognito mode specifically for YRM Prop trading to avoid accidental VPN connection if browser-based VPN extensions are installed. One accidental login through VPN can trigger irreversible termination.

Trade Only From Registered Country

The safest approach is restricting all YRM Prop trading activity to the country listed in KYC documents. Avoid trading while traveling internationally, even without VPN. While technically permitted, international logins create patterns that may trigger false positive flags during compliance reviews.

If trading while abroad is essential, maintain detailed documentation of travel dates, locations, and purpose to provide if questioned during payout review.

Use Stable Residential Internet

Traders with unstable internet who consider VPN or VPS for connection reliability should instead invest in better residential internet service or mobile hotspot with adequate data allowance. The risk of account termination and profit forfeiture from VPN violation far exceeds the cost of reliable connectivity.

Accept the Trade-Off

Some traders prioritize privacy protection over access to specific prop firms. If VPN usage is non-negotiable for privacy or security reasons, YRM Prop is incompatible with those requirements. Traders must choose between using the firm (without VPN) or maintaining VPN protection (with different prop firms that allow VPN usage).

VPN Policy Compared to Other Prop Firms

YRM Prop's VPN ban is stricter than many competitors, particularly Topstep which allows VPN usage with some caveats. Traders who require VPN for legitimate purposes may need to select alternative firms with more permissive policies.

Final Verdict

YRM Prop's complete VPN ban exists to prevent fraud, maintain regulatory compliance, and protect firm capital from sophisticated exploitation schemes. While this creates genuine hardship for traveling traders, privacy-conscious users, and those with unstable internet, the firm has determined the risk of allowing VPN usage outweighs the inconvenience to legitimate users. The policy is absolute, enforcement is strict, and violations result in permanent consequences without possibility of appeal or exception.

Traders considering YRM Prop must accept this restriction as a condition of platform access. The VPN ban is non-negotiable and will not change regardless of stated reasons or circumstances. For traders unwilling or unable to trade without VPN protection, this single policy makes YRM Prop incompatible with their requirements regardless of the firm's other advantages like industry-leading pricing and fast payouts.

The safest approach is complete VPN avoidance when using YRM Prop services, trading only from your registered country location, and proactively contacting support before any international travel. One accidental VPN connection can cost you weeks of trading profits and permanent platform access. The risk is simply not worth taking.