About ip address lookup
An IP address identifies a device or network on the internet. A lookup shows its approximate location and the organisation that owns it.
What it can and cannot tell you
- Location is approximate, usually city or region level, and often points to the internet provider's hub.
- It cannot identify a person or exact address.
- VPNs and mobile networks change the result.
A worked example
Looking up your own address shows the country, the city that your internet provider uses, the provider's name and the network range. If you use a VPN, the result shows the VPN server's location instead of yours.
Public and private addresses
- Addresses such as 192.168.x.x and 10.x.x.x are private to your home or office network and cannot be looked up.
- Your public address is shared by every device behind your router.
- An address can change over time, depending on the provider.
Privacy
The lookup uses an outside service, so the address you type is sent to it. Avoid looking up addresses of private systems that you do not want to share.
