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what is my ip”.

Look up IP Address Location

If you can find out the IPv4 or IPv6 address of an Internet user, you can get an idea what part of the country or world they're in by using our IP Lookup tool. What to do: Enter the IP address you're curious about in the box below, then click "Get IP Details."

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Enter IP Address for lookupGET IP DETAILS

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How to get someone's IP address

Once you have an IP address it is as easy as pasting and clicking above. But if you don't know how to get someone's IP address read: 11 Ways To Get Someone's IP Address

What you will get with this tool

The ISP and organization's name
The IP's host name
The country it's in
The region/state
The city (see below)
The latitude and longitude of the location (a best guess)
The area code for that region
Any known services running on that IP

What you won't get

You won't get anything like...

A person's name
The exact location or street address
A phone number
Their email address

That's where privacy issues come in, which are there to protect Internet users like you.

What Is an IP Address?

An Internet Protocol (IP) address is a unique numerical label assigned to each device connected to a network that uses the Internet protocol suite for communication. It allows devices on a network to communicate with each other by assigning them a unique number known as an IP address. For example, when you visit a website, your computer will send out an IP address that identifies it as yours so that the website knows who is visiting it.

Using this identity, the client device sends a request to the server, passing through routers, hubs, and other network nodes in order to access data and information available on the web.

Versions of IP address

IPv4 Address

The IPv4 protocol is the most common form of IP addressing today and it has been in use since the early 1980s. It consists of 32 bits that are divided into four octets (or 8-bit segments). Each octet represents a decimal number ranging from 0 to 255, which means that there can be up to 4,294,967,296 possible IPv4 addresses in existence. For example, an IPv4 address might look like this: 172.16.254.1.

IPv6 Address

IPv6 is the newest version of IP addressing and was introduced in 1998 as an upgrade to IPv4 due to the limited number of available IPv4 addresses. It consists of 128 bits that are divided into eight 16-bit segments. Each segment is represented by four hexadecimal digits and can range from 0000 to FFFF, which gives us over 340 trillion possible IPv6 addresses! For instance, an IPv6 address might look like this: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

Types of IP Address

Each type of IP address may be further categorized into the following IP address categories:

Private IP Address

A private IP address is an internal network address that allows connected devices within a network to communicate with one another. It’s used by routers and modems for local area networks (LANs). You can find your private IP address when you log into your router or modem’s settings, usually under the heading “LAN Settings.” Private IP addresses are often in the form of 192.168.x.x or 10.0.x.x but can come in other forms as well depending on the type of network being used.

Public IP Address

A public IP address is an external internet address that allows devices connected to the internet to communicate with one another across vast distances. Your internet service provider (ISP) provides this type of address and can be found in the same settings menu as your private IP address—usually either next to it or at the top of the screen. Your public IP address is typically in the format xxx.xxx.xxx and looks something like 64.124.243.203 or 212.78.2101 etc.. It’s important to note that this type of address changes frequently, so it might not always be the same when you check it again later on down the road!

How to change your IP address?

These are some easy techniques to change your IP address:

Switch networks

Switching to a new network is the easiest method for altering a device’s IP address. For instance, if you are surfing on your smartphone’s Wi-Fi connection at home, you may disable Wi-Fi and utilize mobile data. This will alter the IP address since each network connection is issued a unique one.

Reset your router/modem

When you reset your modem/router, the IP address will also be reset. Simply disconnect the modem/router for at least thirty seconds, replug it, and reconnect as usual.

Connect via Virtual Private Network (VPN)

A VPN will hide your public IP address and indicate to the network that you are connected from a different place, so altering your IP address. This occurs over an encrypted tunnel, and your ISP will be unable to see your activities. Explore alternatives such as TunnelBear, ExpressVPN, and NordVPN.

Utilize proxy server

Change the proxy settings on your web browser so that it configures automatically. The Online Proxy (HTTP) option is enough for basic web surfing, but depending on your requirements, you may want more precise settings.

What Is an IP Address?

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.

The primary purpose of an IP address is to 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.

The secondary purpose of an IP address is for location addressing. In other words, to place your device in an approximate physical location in the world (also known as geolocation).

In a way, IP addresses are comparable to postal addresses.

In a typical household, multiple devices are connected to a single internet connection through a router (or combination of routers). In this scenario, all these devices have the same public IP address.

If one of these devices (e.g. your smartphone) 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 an internet service provider).

What Is My IP Location?

When an IP checker tool detects an IP address, it queries a database (e.g. ARIN) to find the specific area in the world 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, and who your internet service provider is.

How to Find Your IP Address

Checking your IP address is simple. Use our tool (at the top of this page) from any web browser and it will display your IP address (IPv4 and/or IPv6), geolocation, and host information.

You can also use a script to check your IP address automatically. If that’s what you want to do, use our https://ip4.top10vpn.com/ URL, instead.

If you want to look up the details of another IP address (not necessarily yours), then use our IP Address Lookup tool.

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

Windows 10 & 11

macOS

iPhone & Android

Amazon Fire TV Stick

IPv4 vs IPv6 IP 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 (78-80% household penetration), however IP4 addresses are running out quickly. 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, safer and more reliable 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.

Why Is My IPv4 & IPv6 Information Different?

If you’re connected to a VPN service while using our IP checker tool, you may see different details between your IPv4 address and your IPv6 address.

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

There are two ways to fix IPv6 address leaks using your VPN:

Check if your VPN has IPv6 leak protectionwithin the app’s settings. If it does, make sure it’s enabled.
See if your VPN can disableor 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 platforms in our guide to 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.

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:

0.0.0 – 10.255.255.255
16.0.0 – 172.31.255.255
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.

What Can Someone Do with My IP Address?

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 see what websites you visit through your public IP address.

Below is a short list of actions companies and individuals can take once they know your IP address:

Determine your approximate location.Your IP address reveals your country, city, and sometimes your ZIP code.
Block your IP address and restrict access to web services.
Carry out a Denial of Service (DoS) attack.This involves sending huge amounts of traffic to your IP address server, causing the server to crash. When this happens, your internet connection drops.
Scan for open ports.Hackers can scan open ports to identify your devices’ vulnerabilities to online attacks.
By obtaining your IP address, someone can dox you. This means uncovering your real identity or personal information and releasing it to the public.
Targeted advertising based on IP address.Businesses can display online ads only targeting specific IP addresses.

How to Hide Your IP Address

As we detailed above, there are risks associated with individuals and companies knowing your IP address.

We therefore believe it’s very important to hide your IP address. The easiest ways to do this are to use a web proxy, or a VPN service.

Hiding Your IP address with a Web Proxy

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.

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.

Hiding Your IP Address with a VPN

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

High-quality VPN services route all your internet traffic through a secure VPN server. They anonymize your web activity, regardless of which application you’re using.

If you’re connected to a VPN, use our IP and DNS leak test tool to verify your IP and DNS credentials are not being exposed.

Learn More About Your IP Address

See below more guides we’ve published to help you learn more about IP addresses:

FAQs

How do I find my IP address?

Can I change my IP address?

What does my IP address reveal about me?

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