What Is an IP Address?

A practical introduction to public IPs, private IPs, IPv4, IPv6, and IP lookup results.

An IP address is a network address used to send traffic between your device, your router, your ISP, and online services. The value shown on the IP lookup page is normally your public IP, which websites can see when you connect.

An IP address is not the same thing as a personal identity. It can suggest country, region, ISP, ASN, and timezone, but it does not reveal your name or exact home address by itself.

Public and private IP addresses

A public IP is visible on the Internet. A private IP is used inside a local network, such as home Wi-Fi or an office. Addresses like 192.168.1.20 are usually private. Several devices can share one public IP through a router.

IPv4 and IPv6

IPv4 looks like 8.8.8.8. IPv6 is longer and uses colons, such as 2001:4860:4860::8888. Many networks support both, so different sites may show different address families.

Reading lookup results

Treat location as approximate. ISP and ASN tell you which network operates the address. For more detail, continue with IP location and public vs private IP.

FAQ