What is an IP address?
Every device that connects to the internet gets assigned an IP address. If you've ever asked yourself "what is my IP?", the answer is the unique number your ISP gives your connection. It stands for Internet Protocol, and it works like a return address on a letter. When you load a website, stream a video, or send an email, your IP address travels with the request so the server knows where to send the response back. Without it, data would have nowhere to go.
There are two versions in use today. IPv4 looks like 82.64.12.45, four numbers separated by dots, and it's what most people picture when they think of an IP address. IPv6 is much longer, something like 2a01:cb00:8a2:f300::1, and it was introduced because the world was running out of IPv4 addresses. If you see an IPv6 address on this page, that's perfectly normal. Your ISP has simply started using the newer format.
What your IP address actually gives away
Less than most people think. When people look up "what is my IP address", they often worry about what it reveals. In reality, your IP address can be used to get a rough location, usually somewhere in the right city or metro area but not much more precise than that. It also reveals your internet service provider. That's about as far as a regular website can go with it.
Your name, home address, phone number, none of that is accessible through your IP. That information sits with your ISP and can only be obtained through a legal process. A lot of people worry about what their IP exposes, but in practice, someone who knows your IP can't do much with it on their own. If you want to see the approximate location tied to your connection, try our IP location tool.
Dynamic IP vs static IP: which one do you have?
Most home internet connections use a dynamic IP address. Your ISP picks an available address from their pool each time you connect, and it can change from one day to the next, sometimes without you even restarting your router. If you write down my IP today and check back in a few days, there's a decent chance it will be different. That's why people who search "whats my ip" don't always see the same result.
A static IP never changes. It's usually offered on business plans or as a paid add-on for residential customers who need it. The main use cases are hosting a server at home, accessing your home network remotely, or running services that need a consistent address to reach you. For regular browsing, a dynamic IP works just fine and most people never need anything else.
Local IP vs public IP: not the same thing
The address showing on this page is your public IP, the one the internet sees. If you're wondering how to find IP address information, this is it: the public address assigned by your ISP. Inside your home network though, every device gets its own local IP assigned by your router. Your phone, laptop, smart TV and any other connected device all have separate local addresses, typically something like 192.168.1.5 or 10.0.0.12. Those addresses never leave your home network.
All your devices share the same public IP when communicating with the outside world. Your router handles the translation between the two, using a process called NAT. So when your laptop requests a webpage, the router sends that request under its public IP, gets the response, and routes it back to your laptop internally. To find your local IP, you'd need to check your device's network settings, not a site like this one.
Your IP address when using a VPN
If you're running a VPN right now, the address on this page isn't yours. It belongs to the VPN server your traffic is being routed through. That's why checking "my IP address" while connected to a VPN shows a completely different location. Depending on which server you're connected to, you might appear to be browsing from Germany, Canada, Japan, or wherever your VPN provider has servers. That's the whole point of using one.
To see your real IP address, disconnect the VPN and reload this page. One thing worth knowing: some VPNs have what are called DNS or WebRTC leaks, where your actual IP slips through even with the VPN switched on. If you're not sure whether yours is airtight, a tool like ipleak.net can check it in seconds. Most reputable VPNs don't have this problem, but it's worth verifying.
Why your IP address changes depending on the device or network
Your IP address follows your connection, not your device. Switch from your home wifi to mobile data and your IP changes completely because you're now going through your carrier's network instead of your ISP's. That's why "what is my IP" gives a different answer at home versus at a coffee shop or hotel, you'll get that network's IP, which has nothing to do with your home one.
On the same network, every device shares the same public IP. So if your phone and your laptop are both on your home wifi, they'll show the exact same address on this page. That sometimes surprises people who expect each device to have its own unique public IP. They do have unique local IPs within the network, but externally they all go out under one shared address.
Is your connection as fast as it should be?
Now that you know your IP address, another question that comes up a lot is whether your internet speed is actually matching what your provider promised. Slow downloads, buffering videos, and laggy calls are all signs worth investigating. Our speed test runs directly in your browser and gives you your download speed, upload speed and ping in a few seconds, no app needed.
The download speed tells you how fast data comes in, the upload speed how fast it goes out, and the ping measures response time between your device and the server. Ping matters a lot for gaming and video calls where a high number translates into noticeable lag. Worth running the test a couple of times at different hours to get a realistic picture of your connection.
