How to use it
- 1.Open this page. Your public IP address appears at the top straight away.
- 2.Look at the second line: if your connection supports both, you’ll see an IPv4 and an IPv6 address.
- 3.Scroll down for the approximate location, your internet provider and details about your browser.
- 4.Click Copy to put the address on your clipboard, or run
curl nestoo.ioin a terminal.
What is an IP address?
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is the number that identifies a device on a network, much like a postal address identifies a house. Every website you open sees the public IP address your connection comes from, because that’s where it sends its reply.
Your router usually shares one public IP address between all the devices in your home. Inside your home network, each device also has a private address such as 192.168.1.20, which never appears on the internet.
IPv4 and IPv6
IPv4 addresses look like 203.0.113.42, four numbers from 0 to 255. There are only about 4.3 billion of them, which isn’t enough for every device on Earth. IPv6 addresses such as 2001:db8::1 are much longer, and there are practically unlimited numbers of them.
Many connections use both at once. Your browser picks one for each website, so a site may see your IPv4 address on one visit and your IPv6 address on the next.
How accurate is IP location?
IP geolocation comes from databases that map address ranges to places. It’s usually right about the country and often about the region, but the city can be off; it frequently points to where your provider routes traffic rather than where you are. An IP address never reveals your street address.
If you use a VPN, a proxy or iCloud Private Relay, websites see that service’s address instead of yours, so the location shown here will be theirs.
Questions and answers
Is my IP address private information?
It isn’t secret (every website and online service you use sees it), but it hints at your approximate location and internet provider. If you’d rather not share it, a VPN or Tor replaces it with another address.
Why is my IP address different from yesterday?
Most home and mobile connections get a dynamic IP address that the provider changes from time to time, for example when your router restarts. A static IP address that never changes is usually a paid extra.
Why doesn’t the location match where I am?
Location databases see where your provider’s network is registered or routed, which can be a nearby big city or even another region. Mobile networks in particular often send traffic through a central point far away from you.
What is the difference between a public and a private IP address?
A public IP address is unique on the internet and assigned by your provider. Private addresses (10.x.x.x, 172.16.x.x–172.31.x.x and 192.168.x.x) are used inside home and office networks, and your router translates them to the public address.
How do I find my IP address from the command line?
Run curl nestoo.io in a terminal and you’ll get just your public IP address, which is handy in scripts. Add -4 or -6 to force IPv4 or IPv6, or request nestoo.io/ip?format=json for JSON.