Retrieving the Real Visitor IP Address Despite Proxy Usage

The PHP code commonly used to obtain a visitor's IP address is:

However, this method fails to capture the true IP when proxies are in play. Seeking a solution to this issue, let's delve into an alternative approach.

Custom PHP Function for IP Determination

The provided PHP code offers a comprehensive solution, considering CloudFlare connections and various other factors:

function getUserIP()
{
    // Handle CloudFlare connections
    if (isset($_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"])) {
          $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] = $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"];
          $_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'] = $_SERVER["HTTP_CF_CONNECTING_IP"];
    }
    $client  = @$_SERVER['HTTP_CLIENT_IP'];
    $forward = @$_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'];
    $remote  = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'];

    if(filter_var($client, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP))
    {
        $ip = $client;
    }
    elseif(filter_var($forward, FILTER_VALIDATE_IP))
    {
        $ip = $forward;
    }
    else
    {
        $ip = $remote;
    }

    return $ip;
}
$user_ip = getUserIP();

This code assigns the IP address to the variable $user_ip, which can then be utilized as needed within your PHP script.