Your public IP address is 216.73.216.55. Your provider assigned it to your connection, and every request you send carries it so the server knows where to reply. The card above adds what we know about it: the provider, the network, the city it points to and whether it looks like a VPN.
My IP address and location
The map shows where your IP is registered, not where your phone's GPS says you are. Geolocation databases from MaxMind, IP2Location and the five Regional Internet Registries (ARIN, RIPE, APNIC, LACNIC, AFRINIC) map blocks of addresses to physical regions, and we cross-check them with operator geofeeds and our own reverse DNS work. City level is usually right. Mobile networks, satellite links and VPNs can put you hundreds of kilometres away, because the traffic leaves the network at a central hub rather than at your door.
IPv4 vs IPv6: what is the difference?
An IPv4 address is four numbers separated by dots, like 203.0.113.45, and there are about 4.3 billion of them. That pool ran out in 2011. IPv6 is longer and hexadecimal, like 2001:db8::8a2e:370:7334, with 340 undecillion addresses, enough for every device on the planet many times over. Most providers now run both at once (dual-stack), so your device may hold an IPv4 and an IPv6 address at the same time. The two tags in the card show which ones your browser can use right now.
How to find my IP address on any device
For the public IP, this page is the fastest way: it is at the top the moment the page loads, nothing to install. For the private IP behind your router:
- Windows: open Command Prompt and type
ipconfig. Look for "IPv4 Address" under your active adapter. - Mac: System Settings, then Network, pick your connection and the IP is in the details pane.
- iPhone: Settings, Wi-Fi, tap the network you are on and scroll to "IP Address".
- Android: Settings, Network & Internet, Wi-Fi, tap the connected network and look for "IP address".
- Linux: run
ip addrorhostname -Iin a terminal.
Those commands show the private address behind the router. The public one, the one websites see, is different, and only an outside service like this page can tell you what it is.
Public vs private IP address
The address on this page is public: every server you talk to sees it. Inside your home each device gets a private one (usually 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x or 172.16-31.x.x) that only works on your local network. Your router translates between the two (NAT, Network Address Translation), which is how twenty devices in one house share a single public address.
What can someone do with my IP address?
See your rough city, your provider and your connection type. That is about it. With your IP someone could scan your ports for open services, try to get you rate-limited or blocked on a website, or file a bogus abuse report. They cannot get into your computer, read your files, take your passwords or find your street address. Only your provider can tie an IP to a person, and it takes a court order.
Why does my IP change?
Most home connections get a dynamic address through DHCP. Your provider hands you one from a pool, and it can change after a router restart, when the lease runs out or after an outage. That is normal; it is how providers stretch the scarce IPv4 space across millions of customers. If you need a fixed address for a server, a camera or remote access, ask your provider for a static IP. It usually costs a small monthly fee.
Check my IP for VPN leaks
On a VPN, the address at the top should belong to the VPN company, not your provider. If it is still your real one, the VPN dropped or something is leaking: DNS, WebRTC or IPv6. Run the DNS Leak Test and the IP Leak Test to confirm everything goes through the tunnel. A working VPN replaces your IP in all outgoing traffic, so websites cannot see your real location.
How to hide my IP address
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is the most effective way. It encrypts your traffic and sends it through a server in another country, so websites see that server's address instead of yours. A proxy is faster but does not encrypt. The Tor network gives the strongest anonymity but is very slow. We compare all three in the Hide My IP guide.