What this page is telling you about your IP
The moment you opened this page, our edge server saw a number arrive with your request — your public IP address. That's what the rest of the internet uses to find you, and the tool above reads it straight off the connection. Next to it you'll see your provider, the network it belongs to, and a rough idea of where you're connecting from.
None of that is magic or a security hole — every website you visit gets the same details by design, or the page you asked for would have nowhere to go. The data here comes from Cloudflare's global edge; we don't keep it or tie it to a name. To map the address out, try the IP geolocation tool.
Public IP versus private IP
The address here is your public IP: the single front door your whole network shows the world. Behind it, your router hands out separate private IPs (the familiar 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x) that never leave the building, juggling them through that one public address using NAT (Network Address Translation). That's why your phone and laptop on the same Wi‑Fi share a public IP, while mobile data gives a different one.
IPv4 and IPv6: why you might see two addresses
You may notice two addresses that look nothing alike — that's IPv4 and IPv6, the two versions of the scheme running side by side today.
- IPv4 is the old, familiar format — four numbers from 0 to 255 with dots between them, like 203.0.113.42. There are only about 4.3 billion of them; the internet ran out years ago, which is why NAT became so common.
- IPv6 is the roomier replacement — eight groups of hexadecimal digits separated by colons, like 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334. Being 128-bit, it offers enough addresses for every device on earth to have its own.
If you see both, your connection is "dual-stack" and uses whichever the other end supports. IPv6 is slowly taking over, but IPv4 isn't going anywhere soon.
ISP and ASN: who actually owns your address
Your IP isn't yours in any permanent sense — it's loaned to you by your ISP (Internet Service Provider), the company you pay for the connection. That's why the tool can name them: addresses are handed out in blocks, publicly registered to whoever runs them.
The ASN (Autonomous System Number) goes one level deeper. An autonomous system is a chunk of the internet — usually one ISP or large network — that runs its own routing under a single policy, and each gets a unique number, like AS13335 for Cloudflare. As traffic crosses the internet it hops from one system to the next, and BGP, the protocol that stitches it together, uses these ASNs to find the way. The ASN often says more than the brand name does: a mobile carrier, a host and a home line look quite different at this level.
How IP geolocation works — and why it's only a guess
People most often misread this, so it's worth being blunt: an IP address does not contain your location. The city and region you see are an estimate, pieced together from registry records, the routes your provider announces, and commercial databases corrected over time.
That estimate is reliable at the country level — usually well over 99% accurate — but gets shakier the closer you zoom. Region might be right two times out of three; city-level guesses are often a coin toss. Mobile data resolves to a carrier gateway in another city, VPNs show the server's location, and recycled addresses drift as databases lag behind. So if the city looks wrong, it usually isn't a bug — it's the limit of what an IP can tell. For something precise, the tool above has a button that asks your browser for GPS, which works only with your permission and reads your device's hardware, not your IP.
Who can see your IP, and what a VPN changes
Every server you connect to sees your public IP — websites, game servers, email senders, anyone on a peer-to-peer call with you. From it they can infer your ISP and a rough region, and that's about it; your name, history and files don't ride along. It's closer to a return address on an envelope than a key to your house.
If you'd rather not hand out your real address, a VPN or proxy routes your traffic through an intermediary, so sites see that server's IP and your location appears to move. Run this tool with a VPN on and it'll report the VPN's address — a quick way to confirm yours is hidden.
Static versus dynamic addresses
Most home connections get a dynamic IP: your provider assigns one from a pool and may swap it after a reboot or lease expiry — for everyday browsing, invisible. A static IP stays fixed, handy if you host a server, reach a camera from afar or whitelist an address somewhere, though ISPs usually charge extra. If your IP looks different today than yesterday, a dynamic assignment is almost always why.
Want to dig further? Look up the DNS records behind a domain or run a domain WHOIS lookup to see who's behind a name.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone find my exact home address from my IP?
No. An IP points to a rough region and your provider, not a street. Only your ISP can link it to an account, and only under legal request.
Why does the tool show two IP addresses?
Your connection supports both IPv4 and IPv6. The shorter dotted one is IPv4; the longer one with colons is IPv6. Sites use whichever they support.
Why is my IP location wrong?
IP geolocation is an estimate, not GPS. Mobile networks, VPNs and reassigned addresses throw it off, so country is usually right but city often isn't. For a precise fix, use the GPS button.
Does a VPN change my IP address?
Yes. A VPN routes your traffic through its own server, so websites see that server's IP and location instead of yours.
Why did my IP address change on its own?
Most providers hand out dynamic IPs that rotate after a reboot or lease renewal. It's normal. For one that never moves, ask your ISP about a static IP.