What is my IP address?

What an IP address actually is

Every device that talks to the internet needs an address, in the same way a letter needs one. When you load a page, your request carries your address so the server knows where to send the answer back. That is all an IP address is: a return address.

There are two versions in use. IPv4 addresses look like 203.0.113.42 and there are about 4.3 billion of them, which ran out years ago. IPv6 addresses look like 2001:db8::1 and there are enough to last indefinitely. Most connections now have both.

Why the location is approximate

Geolocation works by looking up which network announces your address, then where that network operates. That is reliable at country level and rough at city level — the answer is often your provider's regional hub rather than where you are sitting.

Mobile connections commonly resolve to a different city, corporate networks to wherever the company routes traffic, and a VPN to wherever its exit server is. If the city above looks wrong, that is expected behaviour rather than a fault.

Frequently asked

What is my IP address?

It is the address your internet provider has assigned to your connection, and it is shown at the top of this page. Every site you visit sees it, because it is how their servers know where to send the reply.

Why does my IP address keep changing?

Most home connections get a dynamic address, which your provider can reassign when your router restarts or your lease expires. A static address that never changes is usually a paid business option.

What is the difference between a public and a private IP address?

The address on this page is your public one — the address the internet sees, shared by everything on your network. Your devices also have private addresses like 192.168.1.5, which only exist inside your own network and are not reachable from outside it.

Does my IP address reveal my exact location?

No. It maps to where your provider routes the connection, which is often a regional hub rather than your suburb, and can be a different city entirely on mobile or corporate networks. Every result here carries an accuracy radius — treat it as a circle, not a pin.

Can someone find my home address from my IP?

Not from the address alone. Only your provider knows which customer had an address at a given time, and they disclose that to law enforcement on a lawful request, not to the public.

Do you store the IP addresses you look up?

No. Lookups are answered from a local database and are not written to disk or passed to anyone else.