What is my IP address?

Your public IP address is the identifier your internet service provider assigns to your connection. It is the address that every website and online service you contact sees. At home, all the devices connected to the same router (computer, phone, television) usually share the same public IP address: the router translates between your local network and the internet (NAT).

It should not be confused with the private IP address (such as 192.168.1.20 or 10.0.0.5) that your router assigns to each device on the local network: that address is never visible from the internet.

Two generations of addresses coexist on the internet:

• IPv4: the historic format, four numbers from 0 to 255 separated by dots (for example 203.0.113.7). Its 4.3 billion possible addresses have run out, forcing providers to share a single address between several customers (CGNAT).
• IPv6: the modern format, eight hexadecimal groups separated by colons (for example 2001:db8::1). Its address space is virtually unlimited, allowing every device to be given its own unique address.

Most modern connections are "dual-stack": they have both types of address at once, and each piece of software chooses which family to use for each connection.

Detection happens entirely server-side: the tool shows the source address of the connection your browser has just made to the site. No JavaScript, no third-party service and no external database are involved.

A network connection only uses one address family at a time: if your browser reached the site over IPv4, only your IPv4 address is visible (and vice versa). That is why a single address is displayed, along with a note of its version.

Your IP address is a piece of information every website automatically receives the moment you visit it: this tool does not "collect" anything, it simply shows you what the server already sees. The address displayed is not stored, not linked to any profile and not passed on to anyone, and the page contains no adverts or advertising trackers.

A few common situations where you need your public IP address:

• adding your address to the allow list of a firewall, server or database;
• setting up remote access (SSH, VPN, remote desktop) or port forwarding on your router;
• checking that a VPN or proxy is actually working: the address shown should be the VPN's, not your ISP's;
• giving your address to technical support to help diagnose a connection problem;
• checking whether your address changes after your router restarts (dynamic address) or stays the same (static address).

Developers can also fetch their address from the command line via the site's API, documented in this tool's API tab.