What Is My IP Address, and Why Does It Matter?

Every device that connects to the internet is assigned an IP address -- a numeric label your router or ISP hands out so that data knows where to come back to. Without one, a website couldn't send a page back to your browser at all.

What your IP address actually reveals

A public IP address on its own doesn't contain your name or street address. What it typically does reveal, though, is your internet provider, the city or region you're connecting from, and a stable identifier that websites, advertisers and your ISP can use to link your visits together over time -- even across different sites, if they share tracking infrastructure.

Public IP vs. local IP

Your router has a public IP address that the wider internet sees, and it hands out separate private (local) addresses -- usually starting with 192.168 or 10.0 -- to each device on your home network. Two different things: your local IP only matters on your own network, while your public IP is what every website you visit actually logs.

How a VPN changes what sites see

When you connect through a VPN, the site you visit sees the VPN server's IP address instead of the one your ISP assigned you. Your traffic still needs an IP to route through -- a VPN doesn't remove that requirement, it substitutes a shared server address for your personal one, which is what breaks the link between your identity and your browsing.

Should you be worried about your IP being visible?

For most everyday browsing, no single website knowing your rough location is a low-stakes issue. It becomes more relevant if you're on a public network you don't trust, in a location where certain content or services are blocked by region, or if you'd simply rather not have every site you visit tied to the same identifier by default.

Curious what your connection currently shows? Total Pro VPN lets you check your current exit location for free, and switch it in one tap.

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