What is an IP address?
An IP address is the number that identifies your connection on the internet. Every website you visit needs it to send the page back to you, so every website sees it.
Your public IP is assigned by whoever connects you to the internet: your home broadband provider, your mobile carrier, or the hotel or café whose Wi‑Fi you're on. Devices on the same network usually share one public IP.
What your IP reveals
- Your approximate location. Usually your city or region, sometimes only the country.
- Your internet provider. The company that owns the address, shown above.
- A way to link your visits. Sites and ad networks can use your IP, together with cookies and other signals, to recognize you across visits.
It does not reveal your name, your street address or what's on your device. Only your provider can tie an IP to an account.
IPv4 and IPv6
IPv4 addresses look like 203.0.113.42: four numbers separated by dots. IPv6 addresses are longer and use letters and colons, like 2001:db8::1. Many connections have both. The version shown above is the one your browser used to reach us.
How to change or hide your IP
Restarting your router or switching between Wi‑Fi and mobile data can give you a new IP, but it still comes from your provider and still shows roughly where you are. To show a different location, connect through a VPN: websites then see the VPN server's address. Privalune does this in one tap, with 70 locations in 55 countries.
Read more: How to hide your IP address: 5 ways compared.