An IP address is the return address of the internet. Every time your phone or laptop requests something — a web page, a video, a message — it stamps the request with its IP so the response knows where to come back to. No IP, no reply.
Public vs private
You actually have at least two IP addresses right now.
Your public IP is the one your internet provider assigns to your whole household. It is what the tool at the top of our homepage shows, and it is what every website you visit sees.
Your private IP (usually something like 192.168.1.5) is assigned by your router to each device inside your home. These never leave your house. Your router translates between the two, which is why a dozen devices can share one public address. That translation has a name: NAT.
Dynamic vs static
Most home connections get a dynamic IP: your provider lends you an address and may swap it every few days, or whenever your router reconnects. That is why the number on our homepage sometimes changes between visits.
A static IP never changes. Businesses pay extra for one because they run servers, security cameras or VPNs that need a permanent address. For normal browsing, dynamic is fine and arguably a small privacy bonus.
What your IP reveals
Less than people fear, more than people assume. From an IP address alone, someone can learn:
- Your approximate city — usually accurate to the city, not the street
- Your internet provider and its network number (ASN)
- Your timezone
What it does not reveal: your name, your exact address, or which device in your house made the request. Your provider could connect those dots from its own logs, but a random website cannot.
Can you change or hide it?
Yes. Restarting your router often gets you a fresh dynamic IP. To mask it properly — so sites see a different address entirely — people use VPNs or Tor. Each comes with tradeoffs in speed, cost and trust, which we cover in our guide on hiding your IP.