What Is My IP Address? Public vs Private IPs, Location Accuracy and Why It Changes
How IP addresses work, the difference between public and private IPs, how accurate IP location really is, and when you need a static IP.
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An IP address is the number the internet uses to route data to your connection — like a postal address for your network. Every website you visit sees it.
Find your IP
Open the free What Is My IP tool. Your public IP appears instantly, along with its approximate location, ISP and time zone. You can also look up any other IP address to see where it's registered and which network owns it.
Public vs private
| Public IP | Private IP | |
|---|---|---|
| Who assigns it | Your ISP | Your router |
| Visible to websites | Yes | No |
| Example ranges | Anything else | 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, 172.16–31.x.x |
| Unique | Globally | Only inside your network |
All devices in your home or office share one public IP through the router (NAT). When a service asks you to "whitelist your IP" — a database firewall, a payment gateway, an API — they mean the public one.
IPv4 and IPv6
IPv4 addresses (203.0.113.45) ran out years ago; IPv6 (2001:db8::1) has effectively unlimited addresses. Many connections now have both, and the tool shows which one you're using.
How accurate is IP location?
- Country: usually right.
- City: an estimate — often off by tens of kilometres, especially on mobile networks where traffic exits through a regional gateway.
- Street address: never available from an IP alone.
VPNs and corporate proxies show the location of their exit server instead of yours.
Why your IP changes
Most home and mobile connections use dynamic IPs the ISP reassigns periodically or when your router restarts. If you host servers, run CCTV remote access or need a fixed address for whitelisting, ask your ISP for a static IP (usually a small monthly fee).
Privacy basics
Your IP reveals your approximate area and ISP — not your identity directly, but it can be linked to you by your ISP under legal process. A reputable VPN hides it from websites; it doesn't make you anonymous.
IP isn't identity
Businesses sometimes use IP location for fraud checks, but it's easily spoofed. To verify that a customer is who they claim to be, use real identity checks — FaceTrust offers self-hosted face matching, liveness detection and ID document OCR.
Related free tools
IP Lookup | DNS Lookup | WHOIS Lookup | Internet Speed Test | All free tools