Every time you go online, your device is assigned an IP address. Websites, apps, and services use it to communicate with you — but it also reveals more about your location and identity than most people realise. This guide explains exactly what an IP address is, what it exposes, and what you can do to protect your privacy.
What Is an IP Address?
IP stands for Internet Protocol. Your IP address is a unique numerical label assigned to your device (or more precisely, to your internet connection) by your internet service provider (ISP).
It works like a postal address for the internet. Just as the post office needs your home address to deliver a letter, the internet needs your IP address to send data back to your device when you visit a website or use an app.
A typical IPv4 address looks like this: 82.31.158.226 — four numbers between 0 and 255, separated by dots. IPv6 addresses are longer and look like: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334.
What Does My IP Address Reveal?
Your IP address is more revealing than most people expect. Here is what any website or service can typically determine from your IP alone:
- Your country — with near 100% accuracy.
- Your city or region — usually accurate to within 20–50 miles for residential connections.
- Your ISP — the company providing your broadband, such as Virgin Media, BT, or Sky.
- Your connection type — whether you're on a residential, business, or mobile connection.
- Whether you're using a VPN or proxy — many IP reputation databases flag known VPN exit nodes.
Notably, your IP address does not reveal your exact street address, your name, or your phone number — at least not to ordinary websites. Your ISP holds a record linking your IP to your account, which they would only disclose under a legal request.
Public IP vs Private IP: What's the Difference?
You actually have two kinds of IP address in use at home:
- Public IP address: This is the address the outside internet sees. It's assigned to your router by your ISP. Every device in your home shares this single public IP when going online.
- Private IP address: This is the address your router assigns to each device inside your home network (your laptop, phone, smart TV, etc.). These are only visible within your home and typically look like
192.168.x.xor10.0.x.x.
When you check "what is my IP" on a tool like GoIPScan, you're seeing your public IP address — the one the outside world sees.
Static vs Dynamic IP Addresses
Your public IP address may change over time, depending on your ISP:
- Dynamic IP: Most home broadband connections use dynamic IPs. Your ISP may assign you a different IP address each time your router reconnects — usually after a reboot or every few days. This provides a small degree of privacy by default.
- Static IP: Business connections often use a fixed, permanent IP address. This makes it easier to run servers or remote access tools, but means your IP is consistently identifiable over time.
How Websites Use Your IP Address
Websites collect your IP address automatically with every request your browser makes. Here are the most common ways they use it:
- Fraud prevention: Banks and e-commerce sites flag suspicious login attempts based on IP location changes.
- Rate limiting: Services limit how many requests you can make per minute from a single IP to prevent abuse.
- Geo-targeting: Advertisers and streaming services use your IP to serve location-specific content or restrict access.
- Analytics: Website analytics tools log your IP to count visitors by country and region.
- Blocking: Some websites block entire IP ranges — for example, blocking access from countries they don't operate in.
Can Websites Track Me Across the Internet Using My IP?
In theory, yes — but it's not the primary method used in practice. Cross-site tracking today relies more heavily on cookies, browser fingerprinting, and login data than on IP addresses alone. Your IP changes often enough (on dynamic connections) that it's unreliable as a long-term identifier.
That said, a single website can log your IP and correlate it with your browsing sessions on their own site. And ad networks that serve ads across many websites can potentially link sessions from the same IP together.
How to Hide or Change Your IP Address
If you want to prevent websites from seeing your real IP, you have a few options:
- Use a VPN: This is the most common approach. A VPN replaces your real IP with one from a VPN server. See our guide on what a VPN is and how it works.
- Use Tor: The Tor browser routes your traffic through multiple volunteer nodes, making it very difficult to trace. It's slower than a VPN but provides stronger anonymity.
- Use a proxy: A proxy server acts as an intermediary for specific applications. Less comprehensive than a VPN, but useful for certain purposes.
- Switch networks: Connecting to a different Wi-Fi network (e.g., a mobile hotspot) gives you a different IP address.
Why You Should Check Your IP Regularly
Checking your IP address is a quick way to confirm several important things about your connection:
- Is your VPN actually working? (Your IP should show the VPN server location, not your home ISP)
- Has your IP address changed since you last checked?
- What information does the internet currently see about your location?
- Are you accidentally browsing from an unexpected location?
Frequently Asked Questions
Can someone find my home address from my IP address?
Ordinary users and websites cannot find your home address from your IP. IP geolocation typically narrows down to your city or district, not your street. Your ISP holds the precise link between your IP and your account — and they would only release this information under a valid legal order.
Is it illegal to look up someone's IP address?
Simply looking up an IP address is not illegal. However, using someone's IP address to carry out attacks or harassment is illegal in most countries.
Does my IP address change when I use mobile data?
Yes. When you switch from Wi-Fi to mobile data, you get a different IP address assigned by your mobile carrier. Mobile IPs are often shared among many users through a technique called CGNAT, which provides a degree of natural privacy.
Can websites ban me by IP address?
Yes. Websites can block specific IP addresses or entire IP ranges. If you encounter an unexpected block, using a VPN to change your IP is one way to work around it.