What is an IP address?
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique numerical label assigned to every device connected to a network. Think of it as the postal address of your computer, phone, or router on the internet: without it, servers would have no way of knowing where to send the web pages, videos, and emails you request. Every time you open a website, your device sends its IP address along with the request so the response can find its way back to you.
There is an important distinction between public and private IP addresses. Your public IP is the address your internet service provider (ISP) assigns to your connection — it is what websites and online services see, and it is the address shown by this tool. Private IP addresses (usually in ranges like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x) are used inside your home or office network to identify individual devices behind your router. Many devices can share a single public IP through a process called NAT (Network Address Translation), which is why your laptop, phone, and smart TV all appear to the outside world with the same address.
IPv4 vs IPv6 — why do I see two addresses?
IPv4 is the original addressing system of the internet, introduced in the early 1980s. It uses 32-bit addresses written as four numbers separated by dots (for example, 203.0.113.42), which allows for roughly 4.3 billion unique addresses. That sounded like plenty at the time, but with billions of people, phones, and smart devices online, the world effectively ran out of unassigned IPv4 addresses years ago. Workarounds like NAT have kept IPv4 usable, but the shortage is real.
IPv6 is the modern replacement. It uses 128-bit addresses written in hexadecimal (for example, 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334) and provides an almost unimaginably large pool — around 340 undecillion addresses. Most modern ISPs and operating systems support both protocols at the same time, a setup known as "dual stack." That is why this page may show you two different addresses: your connection is reachable over both IPv4 and IPv6 simultaneously. If you only see one, your network or provider simply hasn't enabled the other protocol yet — that is completely normal.
What can my IP address reveal about me?
Your public IP address carries more information than most people realize. It does not expose your name, exact street address, or browsing history by itself, but it does allow anyone who sees it — every website you visit — to infer several things about your connection:
- Approximate location — usually your city or region, based on where your ISP registered the address block. Accuracy varies from a few kilometers to an entire metro area.
- Your internet service provider (ISP) — the company you pay for internet access, such as a telecom or cable operator.
- The ASN (Autonomous System Number) — the network identifier of the organization routing your traffic, which reveals whether you are on a residential, business, mobile, or data-center connection.
- Connection type — patterns in the address and ASN can indicate whether you are browsing from home broadband, a mobile network, a corporate office, or a VPN/proxy server.
Combined with cookies and browser fingerprinting, an IP address helps advertisers and analytics services build a picture of your habits. This is why privacy-conscious users often use a VPN, which replaces their real IP with one belonging to the VPN provider.
Why did my IP address change?
Most residential connections use dynamic IP addresses: your ISP assigns you an address from a shared pool, and that address can change when you restart your router, when the lease expires, or when the provider reorganizes its network. This is normal and requires no action on your part. Static IP addresses, by contrast, never change — they are typically sold as a paid add-on to businesses that host servers, run remote-access systems, or need a fixed address for allowlisting. If your address looks different from the last time you checked, you almost certainly have a dynamic IP, which is what the vast majority of home users have.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone find my exact home address from my IP?
No. IP geolocation points to the registered location of your ISP's address block, not to your house. In practice it identifies your city or region at best. Only your ISP can link an IP address to a subscriber's identity, and it will only do so under a valid legal request such as a court order.
Is it dangerous that websites can see my IP address?
By itself, not particularly — every website you visit must see your IP to send data back to you; that is how the internet works. The risks are indirect: your IP can be used for coarse location tracking, targeted advertising, or, in rare cases, denial-of-service attacks against gamers or streamers. If any of that concerns you, a reputable VPN hides your real address from the sites you visit.
Why does the map show the wrong city?
Geolocation databases map IP blocks to the locations registered by ISPs, and those records can be outdated or point to a regional hub rather than your town. Mobile connections are especially imprecise because carriers route traffic through centralized gateways. A "wrong" city a few hundred kilometers away is common and does not mean anything is wrong with your connection.
How can I hide or change my IP address?
The simplest options are: restart your router (with a dynamic IP, you may receive a new address), use a VPN (which routes your traffic through a server with a different IP), use the Tor network (free, slower, strong anonymity), or use a proxy server. A VPN is the most practical choice for everyday privacy because it encrypts your traffic in addition to masking your address.
What is an ASN and why does it matter?
An ASN (Autonomous System Number) identifies a network that manages its own routing on the internet — typically an ISP, a cloud provider, or a large enterprise. When you see "AS15169 Google LLC" or similar, that is the organization responsible for routing the IP address. ASNs are useful for diagnosing routing problems, identifying whether an address belongs to a data center or a residential provider, and detecting VPN or proxy usage.