My Public IP Address

An IP address is a unique numerical identifier assigned to any device connected to a computer network. Think of it as your device's digital address, allowing other devices to find and communicate with it across the internet. Just as your home address helps mail reach you, your IP address ensures data packets reach your device.

Public IP addresses are assigned by your Internet Service Provider and identify your network to the internet at large. Private IP addresses exist within local networks (like your home or office) and use specific reserved ranges:

• 10.0.0.0 to 10.255.255.255
• 172.16.0.0 to 172.31.255.255
• 192.168.0.0 to 192.168.255.255

While many devices in different locations can share the same private IP address, public IP addresses must be unique across the entire internet.

The simplest way to check your public IP address is to visit an IP lookup website (like IP.Info!). Your router's web interface can also show your public IP (typically accessed by typing 192.168.0.1 or 192.168.1.1 in your web browser). For checking private IP addresses:

• On Windows, use ipconfig in Command Prompt
• On Mac/Linux, use ifconfig in Terminal.

Remember that if you're behind a router (as most home users are), the private IP shown by these commands will be different from your public IP address.

Your IP address can reveal several pieces of information about your connection and device:

• Geographic location (usually city/region level, not exact address)
• Internet Service Provider (ISP) name and location
• Connection type (residential, business, mobile, or data center)
• Device information (operating system, browser type, language settings)
• Whether you're using a VPN or proxy service

While this information is accessible to websites you visit, only your ISP can link your IP address to your personal details like name, address, and account information. This is why some privacy-conscious users employ VPNs to mask their IP address and associated data.

Most home internet connections use dynamic IP addresses that periodically change, e.g. when you reconnect to the network or restart your router. This allows ISPs to efficiently manage their address pools and perform network maintenance, and it also provides some privacy benefits as your identifier changes periodically.

Static IP addresses are typically used by businesses and web servers. Some VPN providers offer dedicated static IP addresses as a premium feature, which can be useful for:

• Accessing IP-restricted networks (like corporate VPNs)
• Hosting services where others connect (like game servers)
• Maintaining consistent access to location-sensitive services

Every internet-connected mobile device, from smartphones to tablets to smart appliances, has an IP address. Your device's IP address changes as you move between networks - from your home WiFi to cellular data to public hotspots. This dynamic nature of mobile IP addresses makes consistent tracking more complex, but also provides an additional layer of privacy as your device's identifier changes with your location. Modern mobile devices can use both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, and may switch between them depending on network availability and capabilities.

IPv4 uses a 32-bit format displayed as four numbers separated by dots (like 192.168.1.1), while IPv6 uses a 128-bit format shown in hexadecimal with colons (like 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:8a2e:0370:7334). IPv6 was developed to address the limited 32-bit address space, offering vastly more unique addresses for our growing connected world: 4.3 billion vs 340 "undecillion" combinations (yes, that's a real number - it's a 1 followed by 36 zeros!). While IPv6 is newer and more capable, both protocols currently coexist on the internet and IPv6 adoption continues to grow as more devices come online each day.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network) creates an encrypted tunnel between your device and a remote server, masking your IP address while protecting all your internet traffic. Proxy servers also route your traffic through an intermediary server to mask your IP, but typically only protect traffic from specific applications. Both tools allow users to appear as if they're connecting from different locations, but VPNs generally offer more comprehensive security features.