An IP address is the number your device uses to go online. Every website you open can see it. Here is how to find your IP in a couple of seconds, what it really reveals about you and what it doesn't, and how to hide it.

How to find your IP address

On a website

The simplest way is to open an IP-check service. For example:

  • whatismyipaddress.com — shows the address, country, city and provider;
  • ipleak.net — shows both IPv4 and IPv6 and checks for DNS and WebRTC leaks too;
  • ifconfig.co — a simple page with the address and country.

From the command line

Windows, macOS and Linux all come with curl. Run:

curl ifconfig.co

To see your IPv4 and IPv6 addresses separately:

curl -4 ifconfig.co
curl -6 ifconfig.co

If the second command fails, your connection has no IPv6 — that is normal; many providers don't offer it yet.

Public and local IP

In your computer's settings you may see an address like 192.168.1.15 or 10.0.0.7. That is a local IP — the device's number on your home network, seen only by your router. Websites see your public IP — the address your provider gave you. That is the one the check services show.

What an IP reveals

  • Your country and approximate city. The country is almost always right; the city is approximate — often it is where the provider's equipment is.
  • Your provider. The name of the internet provider, mobile carrier or hosting company.
  • The connection type. Home broadband, a mobile network or a server in a data centre.
  • Whether you use a VPN, proxy or Tor. Many such addresses are in databases, and websites take that into account.

What an IP doesn't reveal

  • Your name, exact home address or phone number — a website can't learn these from an IP alone.
  • Only the provider knows who had an address at a given moment, and it discloses that only on an official request, from law enforcement for example.

Still, an IP is only one part of the picture. Websites also collect your browser fingerprint, cookies and the data of any account you are signed in to, and together these tell them more about you than an address alone.

Why your IP changes

Most home and mobile connections have a dynamic address: the provider may issue a new one after you restart your router, reconnect or simply after a while. A static IP stays with the connection permanently — it is usually ordered separately, for remote access for instance.

How to hide your IP

  • A proxy — for individual programs and profiles; you can give each account its own address.
  • A VPN — for the whole device, with one address.
  • Tor — for maximum anonymity, but slowly.

How they differ is covered in "Proxy vs VPN vs Tor". Once connected, open the check service again: it should show the proxy's or VPN's address, not yours. If you use an IPv6 proxy, check on a service that supports IPv6, such as ipleak.net or ifconfig.co. Why that matters is explained in "How to Test a Proxy".

FAQ

Why does the service show the wrong city?

Geolocation databases only estimate the city, and providers often route subscribers to the internet through equipment in another city. More in "IP Geolocation".

Why do I have two IP addresses?

If your provider offers both IPv4 and IPv6, you have both. A website sees whichever one you connected by: IPv6 websites usually get IPv6, the rest get IPv4.

Is it dangerous to show my IP?

An IP alone doesn't reveal who you are. But it shows your approximate location and provider, and websites can use it to link your accounts. If you'd rather avoid that, use a proxy or a VPN.

Need a separate IP for each account or task? Choose IPv6 proxies in our configurator.