What Is My IP Address?

IP addresses can reveal a lot, from the city you’re in to your identity. When they combine your IP address with cookies and metadata, brands can track you from site to site, loading advertisements targeted to your web activity.

The first step in digital security is finding out what your IP address is in the first place. With this simple tool, you can find your IP address without doing any serious digging in your device’s settings.

What Is My IP Address?

Your IP address can be found below: Click the button below to hide your IP address:

What Is an IP Address?

An IP address is an Internet Protocol address, or a device’s identifying number associated with either the device itself or its home network (router). IP addresses let devices send and receive data; we like to think of them as a mailing address for devices.1

What an IP Address Looks Like

IP addresses are strings of numbers separated by periods. Each number is between 0 and 255, so the full range of IP addresses is 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.

What Can People Find Out About You From Your IP Address?

Your IP address reveals your device’s location, which includes your:

• Country
• Region or city
• ZIP code

How People Use This Information

What can someone do with your IP address, you ask? Brands can use it to serve you targeted advertisements and sell your data, thieves can use it to steal your identity, and Google uses it to build data centers and to give you search results, maps, weather forecasts, etc. Basically, since IP addresses are essential for using the internet, they determine exactly what content shows up when you do a Google search.2

How To Protect Yourself Online

The easiest way to protect yourself online and increase your online anonymity is to use a VPN. VPNs (virtual private networks) encrypt your IP address as well as your web activity so they’re hidden from your internet service provider (ISP). No hackers will be able to see your device’s private IP address either, protecting you from identity theft and a slew of other privacy violations.

You can also use a proxy server or the Tor browser to protect yourself online. We’ll detail the step-by-step instructions below.

What Is an IP Address Location?

An IP address location is the actual geolocation that someone can glean from your device’s IP address. Since IP addresses represent countries, regions, domain names, ISPs, latitudes, and longitudes, someone can take this information to find your physical location — if you don’t hide or change it, that is.

Types of IP Addresses

IP addresses aren’t all interchangeable. They can be IPv4 or IPv6, dynamic or static, and public or private. Let us explain.

IPv4 vs. IPv6

“IPv” stands for “Internet Protocol version,” and there are currently two options: IPv4 and IPv6.

What Is IPv4?

Most likely, your device has an IPv4 address, as most ISPs use IPv4. It’s the current standard, but it will run out soon, as there’s a limited number of unique IPv4 addresses.

What Is IPv6?

IPv6 addresses, on the other hand, won’t ever run out, but they’re nowhere near as common as IPv4 addresses. Why? Because IPv6 isn’t compatible with IPv4, devices with IPv6 addresses can’t access IPv4 websites. That’s why we’re sticking with IPv4 — until it runs out, of course, in which case a major transition to IPv6 will be necessary.

Static vs. Dynamic IP Addresses

When you connect to a VPN, you may get the same IP address every time (static) or a different one every time (dynamic). Dynamic IP addresses are harder to track, as you’re essentially putting on a new disguise every time you go online.

Unlike static IP addresses, dynamic IP addresses eventually expire. After that, the computer either gets a new IP address or requests a new lease.

Public vs. Private IP Addresses

IP addresses can also be public or private.

How Private IP Addresses Work

Each device has its own private IP address, which the router it’s connected to assigns. Private IP addresses let devices find and identify each other easily, but when you’re connected to the internet, fortunately, the other sites can’t see your private IP address.

How Public IP Addresses Work

When you’re connected to the internet, other devices can see your public IP address (i.e., the IP address of your router that came from your ISP). All of the devices connected to a single router have the same public IP address, which reveals your location, ISP, etc. That’s why people use VPNs to change and hide their IP addresses, which brings us to our next point …

How To Hide and Change Your IP Address

When it comes to your online privacy, it’s not enough to hide your IP address. You also need to change your IP address so you can use the internet. Fortunately, VPNs offer a two-in-one solution. But what is a VPN, exactly?

VPNs

A VPN is a virtual private network. Again, VPNs encrypt your browsing history as well as your IP address, allowing you to browse the web privately. You’ll either get a dynamic IP address, a static and shared IP address, or, if you pay extra, a dedicated IP address.

Here’s how to set up a VPN:

1. Choose a VPN. If you’re not sure where to start, check out our list of the best VPN services.
2. Download the app from either the VPN website or your device’s app store.
3. Complete the installation instructions.
4. Connect to a server.

Tor Browser

While VPNs encrypt all of your web activity across your entire device, the Tor browser only encrypts your web activity within that browser. It isolates each website, clearing cookies as soon as you’re off the site to avoid tracking and advertisements. The browser will change your IP address and device information, encrypting everything three times over the Tor network. In short, websites will not be able to see where you’re coming from if you use the Tor browser.

To use the Tor browser on Windows, macOS, Android, or Linux:

1. Go to Torproject.org/download/.
2. Click the link to download Tor on your device.
3. Complete the installation process.
4. Open the Tor app and start searching privately.

Proxy Servers

If you only want to hide your IP address, not necessarily your web traffic, you can connect to a proxy server instead of a VPN. Proxies are intermediary devices that mediate your online connection, but they’re better to use on a one-off basis rather than regularly.

To get a proxy server on a Mac:

1. Open the Safari app.
2. Click “Preferences.”
3. Click “Advanced.”
4. Click “Change Settings.” Your System Preferences app will open to the Network section.
5. Update your settings with the information that your network administrator provided.
6. Click “OK.”

To get a proxy server on a Windows PC:

1. Open your Administrative Template.
2. Click “Windows Component.”
3. Click “Data Collection and Preview Builds.”
4. Click “Configure Authenticated Proxy Usage.”
5. Enable “Authenticated Proxy Usage.”
6. Click “Apply.”

To get a proxy server on an iOS device:

1. Click “Settings.”
2. Click “Wi-Fi.”
3. Click “Select Network Information.”
4. Scroll down to where it says “HTTP Proxy Section.”
5. Click “Manual.”
6. Click “Edit Proxy Settings.”
7. Turn “Authentication” on.
8. Go back to the Wi-Fi section to save your proxy.

To get a proxy server on an Android:

1. Click “Settings.”
2. Click “Wi-Fi.”
3. Click “Network Name.”
4. Click “Modify Network.”
5. Click “Advanced.”
6. Click “Manual.”
7. Enter your hostname and proxy port.
8. Click “Save.”

Why Hide and Change Your IP Address?

People have various reasons for using VPNs and changing their IP addresses in general. Here are some examples:

• To prevent tracking: Targeted advertisements show us products we might have searched for in the past, following us from site to site. However, if we block them from our IP addresses, websites can’t sell our information to large data companies, stopping the targeted ads process in its tracks (no pun intended).
• To bypass government restrictions: In countries with internet censorship, VPNs let you surf the web freely. That’s why we’ve picked out the best VPNs for Hong Kong and the best VPNs for the UAE, two countries with authoritarian governments.
• To stream new content: VPNs let you stream content in other regions, like changing your region on Netflix to access a whole new library.
• To torrent safely: While we can’t condone torrenting copyrighted content, you can use a VPN to torrent privately.
• For privacy: Whether you want privacy in general or need it for your work as an activist or journalist, VPNs provide the protection you need for truly free internet.
• For security: When you’re on a public Wi-Fi network, hiding your IP address prevents hackers from seeing your location and intercepting your device.
• To prevent identity theft: Hiding your location, along with your cookies and metadata, can prevent identity identity theft, which our identity theft research has shown us affects about a third of U.S. adults.

Recap

We hope this page helped you to learn more about IP addresses in general. After all, these numbers reveal so much about your location, including your city and ZIP code, so they’re something you want to keep private. Keep reading for more FAQs about IP addresses, and look out for more useful tools and guides in the future.