Your IP address is the unique number your internet connection uses to talk to the rest of the web. The panel above shows your public IP address right now — the IPv4 and IPv6 addresses the internet sees when you visit a site — together with your approximate location and the internet provider that owns it. Nothing is stored: the lookup runs the moment the page loads and the result is only shown to you.

What is an IP address?

IP stands for Internet Protocol. Every device that connects to the internet is assigned an IP address so that data — web pages, emails, video — can find its way to and from the right place, much like a postal address routes a letter. Without an IP address, servers would have no way to send responses back to your device.

There are two kinds of address in play whenever you browse. Your public IP address is assigned by your internet service provider (ISP) and is visible to every website you visit. Your private IP address (typically something like 192.168.x.x) is handed out by your home router to each device on your local network and is never seen by the outside world.

Public vs. private IP addresses

The address shown on this page is your public one, because that is what websites, apps and online services actually see. Your router uses a technique called NAT (Network Address Translation) to share that single public address across every phone, laptop and smart device in your home. That is why all of your devices usually appear to the internet under the same public IP.

IPv4 and IPv6

The original addressing scheme, IPv4, uses numbers like 203.0.113.24 and provides about 4.3 billion addresses — a pool that has effectively run out. Its successor, IPv6, uses longer addresses like 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334 and offers a practically unlimited supply. Many connections now support both at once, which is why the panel above can show an IPv4 and an IPv6 address for the same device. If only one appears, your network simply doesn't use the other yet.

Why your IP address matters

Because your public IP is tied to your ISP and a rough geographic area, websites can use it to estimate your city or region, choose a language, apply content rules, or flag suspicious sign-ins. It is not a home address and it does not reveal your name, but combined with other data it can be used to build a profile of your activity. If you would rather keep your real IP and location private, a VPN routes your traffic through its own servers so sites see the VPN's address instead of yours.

How we detect your IP address

This page reads the IP address your browser connects with and looks up its public geolocation and network owner using free, privacy-respecting data. To show both families, it also asks two lightweight endpoints — one reachable only over IPv4 and one only over IPv6 — so it can report whichever addresses your connection actually has. The whole check happens in your browser and on our lookup, with no account and no tracking.

Frequently asked questions

Is it safe to show my IP address?

Yes. Your public IP is already visible to every website you visit — showing it here reveals nothing new. It cannot, on its own, be used to access your device or identify you personally.

Why is my IP address different from a friend's on the same Wi-Fi?

On the same network you normally share the same public IP. Your private (local) addresses differ, but the public address the internet sees is usually identical for everyone behind the same router.

Why does my IP address change?

Most home connections use a dynamic IP that your ISP can reassign periodically or when your router reconnects. Mobile networks change even more often. A static IP that never changes is usually an optional extra.

Does this show my exact location?

No. IP geolocation is approximate — typically accurate to a city or region, and sometimes only to the country. It is based on your ISP's records, not GPS, so it will not reveal your street address.

How do I hide my IP address?

The most common way is a VPN, which replaces your public IP with one of its own. The Tor network and some proxies also mask your address. When a VPN is active, this page will show the VPN server's IP instead of yours.