Every device connected to the internet has an IP address — a unique string of numbers that identifies your connection. When you visit a website, your IP address is visible to that site’s server. It is the digital equivalent of a return address on an envelope: without it, the website wouldn’t know where to send back the page you just requested.
Public vs Private IP — Two Different Things
You probably have two IP addresses right now, and they mean very different things.
A private IP is the address your device has inside your home or office network. It usually looks like 192.168.1.5, 10.0.0.12, or 172.16.x.x. This address is only meaningful inside your local network — your laptop uses it to talk to your printer, your phone to your smart TV. The wider internet has no idea this address exists.
A public IP is the address the rest of the world sees. When your router connects to your ISP, the ISP assigns it a public IP, and every device behind that router shares it via a process called NAT (Network Address Translation). This is the address recorded by every website you visit, every API you call, and every server you connect to.
When tools like MyIPInfo say “your IP address is…”, they mean your public IP — the one the internet sees.
What Can Someone Learn From Your IP?
Your IP address can reveal:
- Country, region, and city — usually accurate to the country and region level, sometimes wrong at the city level (especially for mobile users on carrier-grade NAT)
- Internet Service Provider (ISP) — Comcast, BT, China Telecom, etc.
- Connection type — home broadband, mobile data, business line, hosting/datacenter, or VPN/proxy
- Approximate timezone
- ASN (Autonomous System Number) — a technical identifier for the network your ISP operates
It does not reveal your exact street address, your name, your email, or any personal identity directly. There is no public database that links an IP to a person.
However, combined with other data (your login email, browser fingerprint, accounts you use), an IP becomes a stable signal that lets services track you across visits, even when you clear cookies.
Why Should You Care?
Even if you have “nothing to hide”, the IP address has real consequences:
- Targeted advertising uses your IP to decide which ads to show, often based on your inferred location and income bracket
- Streaming services enforce geographic restrictions — Netflix shows different libraries in different countries based on IP
- Websites can block or throttle your connection based on your IP’s reputation (shared IPs often get hit by automated blocks meant for spammers)
- Governments and ISPs in many countries can log which sites your IP visits
- Price discrimination — some travel and SaaS sites quietly show different prices based on your country
How Often Does Your IP Change?
Most home internet connections have a dynamic IP — it can change every few hours, days, or weeks, depending on your ISP. Mobile networks change much more often (sometimes every cell tower handoff). Static IPs are usually only assigned to businesses or by request.
If you want to see this in action, check your IP today on MyIPInfo, then check again tomorrow. There’s a decent chance it changed.
How to Protect Your IP Address
The most effective method is a VPN (Virtual Private Network). A VPN routes your traffic through a server in another location, hiding your real IP from the websites you visit. The site sees the VPN’s IP instead of yours.
When choosing a VPN, look for:
- A strict no-logs policy that has been independently audited
- Based outside surveillance alliances (5/9/14 Eyes)
- Strong encryption (WireGuard or OpenVPN protocols)
- DNS leak protection built in
- A kill switch that blocks all traffic if the VPN drops
Other options exist with different trade-offs:
- Tor Browser offers stronger anonymity but is much slower; good for sensitive browsing, bad for streaming
- Mobile data gives you a different IP than your home WiFi, but your carrier still sees everything
- Proxies are lightweight but most don’t encrypt traffic — your ISP can still see what you do
Verify Your Setup Actually Works
Checking your IP regularly with a tool like MyIPInfo helps you verify your VPN is working correctly and your real location is not being exposed. Open MyIPInfo with your VPN on — you should see the VPN’s country and ISP, not your real ones. If you see your real ISP, the VPN is leaking and you need to fix the configuration before it matters.
Run the same check after reconnecting to WiFi, after waking from sleep, and after restarting your browser. These are the moments VPNs most commonly leak.