What's the difference between public and private IP addresses?

Public IP: assigned by your ISP, visible to every website you visit, unique on the internet. Private IP (like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x): assigned by your router to devices on your local network, never visible outside your home/office. Most homes have ONE public IP shared by all devices via NAT (Network Address Translation). The IP this tool shows is your public IP — what websites see, not your laptop's local 192.168.1.x address.

Can someone find my exact address from my IP?

No. IP geolocation is approximate — typically accurate to city or metropolitan area, sometimes off by 50-200 miles. The IP maps to your ISP's network infrastructure, not your home. ISPs know which subscriber holds which IP at what time, but they only release that info to law enforcement with a warrant or to investigators with proper legal process. Casual users can identify your ISP and approximate region but not your street address.

Why does my location show somewhere I'm not?

Common causes: (1) VPN — your IP belongs to the VPN's server, not your location. (2) Mobile carrier — cell data IPs often map to a regional aggregation point, not your tower. (3) Corporate network — your office's IP shows the corporate gateway location. (4) ISP routing — small ISPs sometimes have IPs that geolocate to their main office. (5) Recent IP reassignment — IP databases update on a delay; new assignments may show old locations for days/weeks. None of these affect your actual location.

What's the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?

IPv4 (32-bit): addresses like 192.168.1.1, total ~4.3 billion possible — the original internet protocol, exhausted in 2011. IPv6 (128-bit): addresses like 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334, total ~3.4 x 10^38 — the modern protocol with effectively unlimited addresses. Most modern ISPs assign both. IPv6 is faster (no NAT overhead) and more secure (built-in encryption). Some sites, services, and routers still don't support IPv6 fully. If your IP shows IPv6 here, your ISP has fully modernized.

How can I hide my IP address?

VPN: routes traffic through a remote server, websites see the VPN's IP. Top services: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Mullvad, ProtonVPN. Tor Browser: routes through 3 random Tor relays, very strong anonymity but slow. Proxy server: similar to VPN but less secure (proxy operator can see your traffic). Important: hiding IP doesn't anonymize you completely — browser fingerprinting, cookies, and login credentials still identify you. For true anonymity, combine VPN + Tor + privacy browser + no logged-in accounts.

Can I get a static IP for my home internet?

Most ISPs offer static IPs for an extra $5-20/month on residential plans, $20-100/month on business plans. Useful for: hosting servers (game servers, web servers, security cameras), VPN endpoints, remote desktop access, port forwarding for specific apps. Not useful for normal browsing. Alternative: dynamic DNS services (Dyn, No-IP, Duck DNS) give you a hostname that updates with your changing dynamic IP — same effect for $0-30/year vs. monthly static IP fees.

Developer Utilities · Free tool

What Is My IP

Check your public IP, approximate city, ISP, and timezone live in your browser with no sign-up or download needed—instant and private.

Updated June 2026

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What it does

A free, no-sign-up lookup for your public IP address plus the approximate location every site you visit can already see. The IP comes from ipify; the city, ISP, and time zone come from ipapi.co. Both calls go straight from your browser — nothing is ever proxied through us, and no account or API key is required.

A few things worth knowing. Your IP is not your address. It’s assigned by your ISP to a region, and the location you see here is usually the nearest major exchange, not your home. If you’re on a VPN, mobile hotspot, or office network, the results reflect that network, not your device. If the geo section says unavailable, the free tier’s rate limit is the usual cause — your IP will still show.

Embed this tool on your siteShow snippet

Paste this snippet into any page. Loads on-demand (lazy), no tracking scripts, and sized to most dashboards. Replace the height to fit your layout.

<iframe src="https://freetoolarena.com/embed/ip-lookup" width="100%" height="720" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" title="What Is My IP" style="border:1px solid #e2e8f0;border-radius:12px;max-width:720px;"></iframe>

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How to use it

Open the page — your IP and approximate location load automatically.
Click Copy to put your IP on the clipboard.
Click Refresh after connecting to a VPN or different network to see the new result.
Compare IPv4 vs IPv6 — if you see IPv6, your ISP has given you a modern address.

When to use this tool

Verifying a VPN is actually working (your IP should change to the VPN’s endpoint).
Sharing your IP with a system administrator who needs to whitelist you for remote access.
Troubleshooting why a website ‘sees you’ in a wrong location.
Testing whether your home network has IPv6 enabled by your ISP.

When not to use it

Determining your home street address — IP geolocation is approximate (city-level at best).
Real-time tracking — IPs change; results are a snapshot.
Forensic / legal investigation requiring identity confirmation — that requires ISP cooperation with legal process.

Common use cases

Confirming NordVPN is routing through Tokyo before testing geo-restricted Japanese content.
Sharing your work-from-home IP with IT to add to a corporate firewall whitelist.
Checking whether your ISP has rolled out IPv6 to your neighborhood.
Verifying mobile hotspot IP differs from home wifi when testing geo-fencing logic.

Frequently asked questions

What's the difference between public and private IP addresses?: Public IP: assigned by your ISP, visible to every website you visit, unique on the internet. Private IP (like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x): assigned by your router to devices on your local network, never visible outside your home/office. Most homes have ONE public IP shared by all devices via NAT (Network Address Translation). The IP this tool shows is your public IP — what websites see, not your laptop's local 192.168.1.x address.
Can someone find my exact address from my IP?: No. IP geolocation is approximate — typically accurate to city or metropolitan area, sometimes off by 50-200 miles. The IP maps to your ISP's network infrastructure, not your home. ISPs know which subscriber holds which IP at what time, but they only release that info to law enforcement with a warrant or to investigators with proper legal process. Casual users can identify your ISP and approximate region but not your street address.
Why does my location show somewhere I'm not?: Common causes: (1) VPN — your IP belongs to the VPN's server, not your location. (2) Mobile carrier — cell data IPs often map to a regional aggregation point, not your tower. (3) Corporate network — your office's IP shows the corporate gateway location. (4) ISP routing — small ISPs sometimes have IPs that geolocate to their main office. (5) Recent IP reassignment — IP databases update on a delay; new assignments may show old locations for days/weeks. None of these affect your actual location.
What's the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?: IPv4 (32-bit): addresses like 192.168.1.1, total ~4.3 billion possible — the original internet protocol, exhausted in 2011. IPv6 (128-bit): addresses like 2001:0db8:85a3::8a2e:0370:7334, total ~3.4 x 10^38 — the modern protocol with effectively unlimited addresses. Most modern ISPs assign both. IPv6 is faster (no NAT overhead) and more secure (built-in encryption). Some sites, services, and routers still don't support IPv6 fully. If your IP shows IPv6 here, your ISP has fully modernized.
How can I hide my IP address?: VPN: routes traffic through a remote server, websites see the VPN's IP. Top services: NordVPN, ExpressVPN, Mullvad, ProtonVPN. Tor Browser: routes through 3 random Tor relays, very strong anonymity but slow. Proxy server: similar to VPN but less secure (proxy operator can see your traffic). Important: hiding IP doesn't anonymize you completely — browser fingerprinting, cookies, and login credentials still identify you. For true anonymity, combine VPN + Tor + privacy browser + no logged-in accounts.
Can I get a static IP for my home internet?: Most ISPs offer static IPs for an extra $5-20/month on residential plans, $20-100/month on business plans. Useful for: hosting servers (game servers, web servers, security cameras), VPN endpoints, remote desktop access, port forwarding for specific apps. Not useful for normal browsing. Alternative: dynamic DNS services (Dyn, No-IP, Duck DNS) give you a hostname that updates with your changing dynamic IP — same effect for $0-30/year vs. monthly static IP fees.

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