About the What Is My IP Address Tool
This tool shows your public IP address and basic information about your browser. With one click it retrieves the address your internet connection presents to the wider internet, the identifier websites and services see when you connect to them.
What an IP address is
An IP address is a numeric label assigned to your device’s connection so that data can find its way to and from you across the internet, much like a postal address routes mail. Every request you make, every page you load, carries your IP so the response knows where to return. Without IP addresses, the network would have no way to deliver information to the right place.
Public versus private IP addresses
There is an important distinction the tool helps illustrate. Your device on your home or office network has a private IP, used only within that local network, while your router has a single public IP that represents your whole network to the outside world. The address shown here is the public one, because that is what websites actually see. This is why several devices in your home all appear to the internet under the same address, and why the address shown may belong to your router rather than your specific device.
Why your IP might not be what you expect
If you use a VPN or proxy, the address shown will be that service’s address, not your own, because your traffic is routed through it. This is precisely the point of a VPN: to mask your real public IP behind another. Mobile connections, shared office networks, and internet providers that rotate addresses can also make your visible IP differ from what you might assume or change over time.
What your IP reveals and does not
A public IP can indicate your approximate region and your internet provider, which is how some sites tailor language or content by location. It does not reveal your name, exact home address, or personal identity on its own. Still, because it is visible to every site you visit, awareness of your public IP is useful for privacy, troubleshooting connection issues, configuring remote access, and understanding what a VPN is actually changing.
Privacy and related tools
The tool reads your public IP from a public lookup service and your browser details locally; it does not store or track the result. It does require internet access, since discovering your public-facing address means asking an external service what address your request arrived from. For other utilities see the Color Blindness Simulator and the broader tools collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is my IP found?
The tool asks a public IP echo service for the address your connection presents.
Is my IP stored?
Not by this tool — it is only displayed to you in your browser.
Why might it differ from my device IP?
You see your public-facing IP, which may be your router or VPN, not the local device address.
Does it need the internet?
Yes — it queries an external service to read your public IP.
Is this IPv4 or IPv6?
Whichever your connection presents to the service.