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To check your IP address using a script, use this URL instead: https://ip4.top10vpn.com/
Use our tool to check your public IPv4/IPv6 address (and IP location) to see what it's revealing. If you're using a VPN or proxy to mask your IP address, check that your real IP is hidden.
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Learn more about IP addresses:
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique identifier for each device on a network, such as the internet.
Its primary purpose is to allow devices find and communicate with each other. Without specific IP addresses, devices wouldn’t be able to communicate with each other over the internet.
In other words, IP addresses are somewhat comparable to postal addresses.
In a common household setup, you may have multiple devices connected to a single internet connection through a router (or combination of routers). In such a scenario, all these devices would have the same public IP Address.
If one of these devices (e.g. your cell phone) is connected to the internet through a wireless carrier, it would have a different IP address than a device connected to your home router (and through a local ISP).
Checking your IP address couldn’t be easier.
Use our ‘What Is My IP’ tool from any web browser and it’ll display your IP address (IPv4 and/or IPv6), IP location, hostname, and user agent.
You can also use a script to check your IP address automatically. If that’s what you want to do, use the https://ip4.top10vpn.com/ URL, instead.
If you want to look up an IP address (not necessarily yours), then use an IP Address Lookup tool.
When you connect to the internet, your internet provider (wireless carrier, local internet service provider, etc) assigns you an IP address.
There are different types of IP addresses you can get: IPv4, IPv6, static and dynamic. We explain each type below.
A web-connected device is assigned an IP address in order to find, send and receive information from other devices connected to the internet.
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 before the huge growth of internet-connected devices. It supports roughly 4.3 billion IP addresses, which may sound a lot, but isn’t enough to cover the whole world.
Each IPv4 address is unique and will usually look like this: 192.0.2.235. The address is separated into four fields of digits, with each field representing a ‘byte.’
The problem with IPv4 addresses is that they are running out fast. With increasing numbers of people connecting to the internet around the world, there just aren’t enough IPv4 addresses for everyone.
IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6) solves 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 (yet), but if you’ve been assigned one then you should experience faster, safer and more reliable internet data transfers.
You should note that a device using an IPv4 address can’t communicate with another device (or server) using IPv6.
IP addresses come in two types: public and private.
Your public IP address is the IP address that is visible to other devices that you connect to on the internet. It’s also known as the ‘external’ IP address.
For example, when you visit Top10vpn.com without a VPN, we can see your public IP address and we’ll display it in our tool.
Typically, if someone talks about an “IP Address” they are referring to their public IP address, not their private IP.
Your private IP address is the IP address assigned within your internal network, for example at home or at your office.
If you have devices connected to your 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.
Importantly, when you visit an external website or open up a mobile application, only your public IP address is visible.
Private IP addresses look different to public IP addresses, and fall into these three ranges:
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.
When your ISP assigns you a public IP address, you’ll either get a static or a dynamic address.
A static public IP address means that your IP address will always remain the same. That’s unless you switch ISP, or you relocate.
For residential connections, most ISPs assign dynamic public IP addresses, meaning that your IP address will change over time – typically when your router reconnects to the ISP after a reboot or network outage.
Having a dynamic IP address doesn’t change the way you use the internet, but it does mean that every now and again your IP address will change.
When an IP checker tool detects an IP address, it will query a database (e.g. ARIN) to find where that IP address is mapped to a specific area on a world map. This ‘area’ is known as your IP’s geolocation.
IP address locations are not terribly accurate, but they do reveal in which city you appear to be located and who your internet service provider is.
An IP address reveals certain information about you. For example, where you’re located (approximately) and what internet-connected devices you use. What’s more, your ISP or mobile carrier can see what websites you visit.
If you’re concerned by this, you need to hide your IP address. The most common and user-friendly methods to do this are to use a web proxy, or a virtual private network (VPN).
A web proxy (usually available via a website or web application) lets you route internet traffic from applications on your device to a proxy server, and then on to your web destination.
Proxies are typically setup on an application by application basis, e.g. a web browser.
When you connect to a proxy server, your IP address will change to one assigned by the server. This masks your true IP address while using a proxied application, and the websites you visit will only see the proxy’s IP address.
A VPN is a better software version of a web proxy, which you can install and use on most devices.
Like a proxy, VPNs divert your internet traffic through a private server, which assigns you a different IP address.
Unlike proxies, secure VPNs will use sophisticated connection protocols (OpenVPN, WireGuard, etc.), and encryption (e.g. AES 256-bit), to further secure your internet data transfers.
The best VPNs will route all your internet traffic through a secure VPN Server. This anonymizes your web activity, regardless of the application.
