IP Address Lookup

The Complete Guide to IP Addresses and Geolocation

An IP (Internet Protocol) address is the fundamental identifier that allows computers to communicate across the internet. Every time you visit a website, send an email, or stream a video, your IP address acts as the return address so the data knows exactly where to go. Our free IP Lookup tool allows you to instantly find your own IP address or trace the location and ISP details of any other public IP address in the world.

Public vs. Private IP Addresses

It's crucial to understand the difference between the two types of IP addresses you interact with daily:

• Private (Local) IP Address: This is assigned by your home router to devices on your local network (your phone, laptop, smart TV). They usually look like 192.168.1.5 or 10.0.0.2. These addresses only work inside your house; the outside internet cannot see them.
• Public (External) IP Address: This is assigned to your modem by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) — like Comcast, AT&T, or Vodafone. All devices in your home share this single public IP address when accessing the internet. This is the IP address our tool detects.

IPv4 vs. IPv6

For decades, the internet used IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4). An IPv4 address is a 32-bit number, formatted as four numbers separated by dots (e.g., 172.16.254.1). IPv4 allows for roughly 4.3 billion unique addresses.

As the internet exploded with smartphones and IoT devices, we ran out of IPv4 addresses. Enter IPv6. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses formatted as eight groups of hexadecimal numbers separated by colons (e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334). IPv6 provides enough addresses for every atom on the surface of the earth. Our tool fully supports looking up both IPv4 and IPv6 addresses.

How Does IP Geolocation Work?

When you use our tool, you'll see a city, region, country, and map coordinates. How do we know where an IP address is located?

IP addresses are distributed in massive blocks to regional internet registries (like ARIN in North America or RIPE in Europe), which then distribute them to ISPs. Private companies compile massive databases linking these IP blocks to physical locations. The accuracy of IP geolocation is:

• Country level: 95% to 99% accurate
• State/Region level: 80% to 90% accurate
• City level: 50% to 80% accurate

Note on privacy: An IP address cannot pinpoint your exact physical address or street name. The location shown on the map is usually the location of your ISP's nearest routing center, which could be several miles away from your house.

What is an ASN?

Our tool displays the ASN (Autonomous System Number) for an IP. The internet is literally a "network of networks". An Autonomous System is a large network or group of networks that has a single routing policy (like an ISP, a university, or a large tech company like Google). The ASN identifies exactly which organization owns and controls the IP address.

Why is My Location Wrong? (VPNs and Proxies)

If the IP Lookup tool shows you in a different country, or identifies your ISP as "DigitalOcean" or "NordVPN" instead of your home provider, you are likely using a Virtual Private Network (VPN) or a proxy (like Apple's Private Relay). VPNs mask your real public IP by routing your traffic through their servers first. The IP address our tool sees is the VPN server's IP, not yours.

Use our free IP Lookup tool to check your own IP or investigate network logs. For other network and security tools, check out our URL Encoder and Base64 Encoder.