What Is My IP Address?

Checking your IP address is very simple. Use our tool from any web browser to display your IP address (IPv4 and/or IPv6), geolocation, and host information.

To check your IP address automatically with a script, use the URL .

You can also find your IP address manually, while connected to a WiFi network, by opening the Network Settings menu in your device. Most devices and operating systems will display your IP address here.

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to manually find your public IP address on popular devices and operating systems:

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifier for each device on a network, such as the internet.

When you connect to the internet, your Internet Service Provider (ISP) assigns you an IP address.

IP addresses allow web-connected devices to find and communicate with each other. Without specific IP addresses, devices wouldn’t be able to send and receive information from each other over the internet.

What Is an IP Location (Geolocation)?

Another purpose of IP addresses is for location addressing. When a tool like ours detects an IP address, it queries a database (e.g. ARIN) to find the geographical area where the IP address is mapped to. This ‘area’ is known as your IP’s geolocation.

IP address locations are not the most accurate, but they do reveal in which city you appear to be located.

Below is a brief explanation of the common types of IP addresses and IP protocols available to everyday internet users:

IPv4 and IPv6 Addresses

There are two types of IP address protocols in use around the world: IPv4 (IP4) and IPv6 (IP6).

IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) was introduced in 1981, way before the huge growth of internet-connected devices. It uses a 32-bit address structure, which supports approximately 4.3 billion IP addresses.

Each IPv4 address is unique and usually looks like this: 192.0.2.235. The IP address is separated into four fields of digits, with each field representing a ‘byte.’

IPv4 is still the most-used Internet Protocol (~80% worldwide household penetration), however IP4 addresses are running out. There just aren’t enough IPv4 addresses for every internet user.

IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) was first introduced in 1995 to solve the supply problem of IPv4 addresses.

Differently to IPv4, IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses, which gives IPv6 a capacity of up to 340 undecillion IP addresses!

Here is an example of what an IPv6 address looks like: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.

IPv6 addresses aren’t as widespread as IPv4, but if your ISP has assigned you one then you should experience faster and more stable internet data transfers.

According to a Google study, global IPv6 adoption currently sits at over 40%. In the United States, IPv6 penetration is closer to 50%.

Be aware that a device using an IPv4 address can’t communicate with another device (or server) using IPv6.

If you’re connected to an IPv6-enabled network, and you use a VPN that does not support IPv6, your personal IPv6 address may be exposed.

Public vs Private IP Addresses

There are two more types of IP addresses: public and private.

Your public IP address is the IP address that’s visible to other devices you connect to on the internet. It’s also known as the ‘external’ IP address.

Your private IP address is the IP address assigned within your internal network, for example at home or at your office.

When you visit an external website, or open up a mobile application, only your public IP address is visible.

For instance, when you visit www.top10vpn.com without a VPN, we can see your public IP address and we’ll display it in our tool (don’t worry, we don’t store IP addresses).

Typically, if someone talks about an “IP Address” they are referring to their public IP address, not their private one.

For devices connected to a home or office router, the router will assign each device a private IP address. This lets the router distinguish internet traffic going to and from each device.

Private IP Ranges

Private IP addresses look different to public IP addresses, and fall into these three ranges:

• 10.0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
• 172.16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
• 192.168.0.0 – 192.168.255.255

To see your private IP addresses, you’ll have to log into your router using the details provided by your router vendor or supplier. Or, look at the network settings on your device.

Static vs Dynamic IP Addresses

When your ISP assigns you a public IP address, you’ll either get a static or a dynamic IP address.

A static public IP address always remains the same. That’s unless you switch ISP, or you relocate. This makes connecting remotely to your computer or other home equipment easier, because your IP address never changes.

However, static IP addresses pose some security risks. Since the IP address never changes, it’s easier for hackers to locate the relevant DNS server. Use one of our other bespoke tools to check your DNS server.

For residential connections, most ISPs assign dynamic public IP addresses. This means your IP address will change over time – typically when your router reconnects to the ISP after a reboot or network outage.

If you’re using a VPN service, you’ll likely be assigned a dynamic VPN IP address. Having said that, some VPN services let you purchase a static VPN IP address for an additional fee.

Dynamic Public IP Addresses

Dynamic IP addresses are assigned by Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) servers and change over time. Your IP address can change a few times a year, or several times a month.

ISPs are increasingly assigning dynamic IP addresses because they cost less to maintain. They can be frequently re-used and re-assigned to devices connecting to the internet.

In practice, having a dynamic IP address doesn’t change the way you use the internet. But, it can make accessing computers, equipment or web resources remotely more difficult.

For instance, to connect to your PC or Webcam remotely, you need to know your IP address. That can become a problem if your IP address changes regularly.

If you’re connected to a VPN, our tool may display different information between your IPv4 address and your IPv6 address.

This is most likely because your VPN is not tunneling IPv6 correctly. This means your real IPv6 address, and all the data associated with it, is still publicly exposed.

There are two ways to fix your VPN leaking your IPv6 address:

1. Check if your VPN has IPv6 leak protection within the app’s settings. If it does, make sure it’s enabled.
2. See if your VPN can disable or block IPv6. This is the next best option – your VPN will simply disable your IPv6 connection to prevent leaks, rather than attempt to tunnel it.

If you cannot find either of these options, your VPN cannot fix the problem.

In this case, you can attempt to fix the issue within your device’s network settings by manually disabling IPv6.

We explain how to disable IPv6 on multiple devices in our guide on fixing IP address leaks.

If you have both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address, the latter will likely be your device’s preferred protocol.

In this scenario, you can fix the leak by blocking all IPv6 traffic. Don’t worry, your internet connection will still work since your device will exclusively use IPv4.

Your IP address reveals certain information about you. For example, where you’re located (approximately) and what internet-connected devices you use.

Furthermore, your ISP or mobile carrier can track and store your web browsing, watch and download history.

We recommend hiding your IP address to be more private and safe while using the internet, and to avoid running into the risks highlighted above.

There are two tools that we consider the most effective to change your IP address (hiding your real one in the process): a web proxy and a VPN.

One of the main reasons why we prefer these two tools is that they let you temporarily change your IP address to one from another city or country, which most other methods aren’t able to do.

Web Proxy

A web proxy, usually available via a website or web application, allows you to route internet traffic from applications on your device to a proxy server, and then on to your web destination.

Web proxies are typically set up on an application-by-application basis, e.g. via a web browser.

When you connect to a proxy server, your IP address changes to one assigned by the server. This masks your true IP address while using a proxied application, and the websites you visit only see the proxy’s IP address.

Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is a better software version of a web proxy, which you can install and use on most devices.

Like proxies, VPNs divert your internet traffic through a remote private server, which assigns you a different IP address. Websites and apps you use will see the remote server’s IP address.

Unlike proxies, secure VPNs use sophisticated connection protocols (e.g. OpenVPN and WireGuard), and encryption (e.g. AES 256-bit and ChaCha20), to further secure your internet data transfers.

Safe and trustworthy VPNs route your internet traffic through a secure VPN server, anonymizing your web activity regardless of which application you’re using.

Below is a list of resources we’ve created to help you learn more about IP addresses: