TL;DR: I need to track client IP addresses and token consumption for 10 remote users. The catch: They refuse to use API wrappers or UI clones (like Open WebUI) and strictly want to use the official consumer web interfaces. How do I solve this?
Hi everyone,
I am facing a highly specific tracking dilemma and need a reality check from the community.
I want to monitor the AI usage of 10 users spread across different physical locations. For security and cost optimization, I absolutely need to log their originating IP addresses and the number of tokens they consume per session.
However, my users flatly refuse to use third-party UI clones, open-source frontends, or local IDE extensions. They will only use the official web interfaces at chatgpt.com and gemini.com.
As we all know, these standard consumer sites use their own account authentication and don't accept custom API keys, meaning a standard backend LLM proxy or API gateway (like LiteLLM or Kong) cannot capture their web traffic.
Aside from forcing them onto a UI clone or setting up a heavy corporate network proxy/CASB tool on their machines, what are my options?
- Browser Extensions: Is there an existing open-source browser extension framework or a custom script I could deploy to their browsers to scrape/intercept network payloads and report token usage metadata back to a central server?
- Endpoint Agents: Has anyone successfully used lightweight desktop monitoring agents or MDM setups to track granular activity specifically for consumer LLM traffic?
- Alternative Workarounds: Is there a clever way to handle this at the DNS or local machine routing level without breaking the native site experience for the user?
I would love to hear any architectural workarounds, tool recommendations, or brutal honesty if this is an absolute dead end.
Appreciate any insights!
Source: r/u/shahae7 · by /u/shahae7