What Is My IP

Every time you connect to the internet, your router is assigned a public IP address by your internet service provider.

That address is how websites, games, video calls, and every other online service know where to send data back to you. If you have ever asked what is my IP, the tool above answers that question in under a second, along with the rough city it maps to, your ISP’s name, your timezone, and (where your network supports it) your IPv6 address.

The tool runs entirely in your browser. When the page loads, your browser contacts one of three public IP geolocation APIs directly — ipapi.co, ipify.org, or ipapi.is — with automatic fallback between them. CalcMojo’s servers never see your IP, never log it, and never sell it. You can refresh any time, and the user-agent string your browser sends is shown in a collapsible panel so you can see exactly what every website learns about your device.

Knowing your IP is useful in a lot of ordinary situations: configuring port forwarding on your router, whitelisting an IP on a work VPN, checking whether a new VPN or proxy is actually working, debugging connection problems with a game server, or just confirming which IP the rest of the web sees when you’re on a coffee-shop network. This guide walks through what an IP address really reveals, how accurate the geolocation is, and practical answers to the questions most people have after seeing their address for the first time.

What Your IP Address Reveals

A public IP address discloses less than most people expect. Websites and geolocation databases can reasonably determine your country (with roughly 99% accuracy), your approximate city or metro area (70-80% accuracy), your ISP or hosting provider, and the timezone your network operates in. That is essentially where useful information ends.

Your IP does not reveal your name, home address, phone number, email, or identity on its own. The mapping between an IP and an individual subscriber is held by your ISP and is only released under legal process such as a court order. Street-level geolocation from IP alone is not possible — databases work from blocks of addresses registered to ISPs, not from GPS coordinates.

IPv4 vs IPv6

The original internet protocol, IPv4, uses 32-bit addresses written as four numbers between 0 and 255, such as 203.0.113.45. That format supports roughly 4.3 billion unique addresses, which the internet has long outgrown. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses written in hexadecimal groups, such as 2001:db8:85a3::8a2e:370:7334, and supports roughly 340 undecillion addresses — enough to assign trillions to every square meter of Earth.

In 2026 most consumer ISPs offer dual-stack connectivity, meaning you usually have both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address at the same time. The tool above shows whichever your browser used to contact the lookup API, and displays the IPv6 address separately when your network provides one. For more on the addressing scheme, see the [IPv4 addresses](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/ipv4-address/) and [IPv6 addresses](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/ipv6-address/) pages.

Public vs Private IPs

The IP the tool shows you is your public IP — the address the outside internet uses to reach your network. Inside your home, every device (laptop, phone, smart TV, printer) has a separate private IP, typically in the ranges 192.168.x.x, 10.x.x.x, or 172.16-31.x.x. Your router performs network address translation (NAT) to multiplex all of those private addresses onto the one public IP your ISP gave you.

That is why your phone and laptop show the same public IP when they’re on the same Wi-Fi, but different public IPs when one is on cellular data. [Public vs private IPs](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/public-vs-private-ip/) covers the distinction in more depth.

Static vs Dynamic IPs

Most home users have a dynamic IP — the ISP assigns one from a pool, and it may change every few days, every reboot, or every lease renewal (commonly 24-72 hours). A static IP never changes and is usually a paid add-on for business accounts that host servers, run VPNs, or need whitelisting.

If you need to reach a home device from outside (for example, a personal media server), a static IP or a dynamic DNS service is worth considering. See [static vs dynamic IPs](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/static-vs-dynamic-ip/) for the trade-offs.

Why You Might Want to Know Your IP

Common reasons people check their own IP:

• Port forwarding — configuring the router to expose a game server, security camera, or home automation hub to the internet.
• Remote access — connecting to a home NAS, desktop, or SSH server from elsewhere.
• Whitelisting — many corporate VPNs and admin dashboards allow only specific IPs.
• VPN and proxy verification — confirming that the tunnel is active and you’re seeing the provider’s address, not your own.
• Troubleshooting — providing your IP to an ISP tech or game support team.
• Privacy awareness — understanding what sites you visit can see about your connection.

How Accurate Is IP Geolocation?

Geolocation databases are compiled from ISP registration records, BGP routing announcements, and user-reported data. Country-level accuracy is excellent — typically above 99%. City-level drops to about 70-80%, and street-level is essentially impossible from IP alone; claims otherwise are misleading.

Common reasons your location looks wrong: your ISP routes traffic through a distant regional hub, you’re on a mobile network where the address maps to the carrier’s data center rather than your tower, you’re on a VPN or corporate network, or the database simply has stale data. Running a full browser geolocation request (the GPS prompt) is far more accurate than IP geolocation. [Geolocation accuracy](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/geolocation-accuracy/) explains why.

Our Privacy Approach

The fetch happens directly from your browser to the lookup APIs — CalcMojo’s servers are not in the middle. We do not log, store, sell, or share your IP. The tool uses three independent providers with automatic fallback so a single API outage cannot break the lookup. If you want to browse more privately, see [how to hide your IP](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/how-to-hide-ip/).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can someone find my exact home address from my IP address?

No. An IP address maps to your ISP and a general region, typically accurate to country and approximate city. Only your ISP can match the IP to your account, and they only release that information under a court order or equivalent legal process.

Why does my IP location look wrong?

IP geolocation uses registration records for blocks of addresses, not GPS. Common causes of inaccuracy are ISP routing through a regional hub, mobile carrier data centers, VPNs, corporate networks, and stale database entries. Accuracy is high at the country level but drops sharply for city-level.

Is my IP address static or dynamic?

Most home broadband users have a dynamic IP that can change when the DHCP lease expires, the router reboots, or the ISP reassigns the block. Business accounts often have static IPs that never change. If you compare your IP now against a week from now and they differ, you have a dynamic IP.

Why do my phone and laptop sometimes show different IPs?

When both devices are on the same Wi-Fi, they share your router’s public IP via NAT. When your phone switches to cellular, it uses your mobile carrier’s network and gets a different public IP. Different networks, different addresses.

How can I hide my IP address?

The most practical tool is a reputable VPN, which routes your traffic through the VPN provider’s servers so sites see their IP instead of yours. Tor provides stronger anonymity at the cost of speed. Proxies are a lighter-weight option. See [how to hide your IP](/utilities/what-is-my-ip/how-to-hide-ip/) for a full comparison.

Can I use this tool from multiple networks?

Yes. The tool re-fetches every time you load the page or click refresh, so it always shows the IP of whatever network you are currently connected to — home, office, mobile, airport Wi-Fi, or a VPN.

Data accurate as of: April 2026