What Can Your IP Address Reveal?
Your IP address is not a name or an exact home address, but it can still reveal some information about you:
- Approximate geographic location – Usually city or region, sometimes just country
- Your internet provider – Which ISP you use
- Connection type – Broadband, mobile, business, etc.
- Organization – If you connect from a company or university
Your IP address does not automatically reveal your name, exact address, phone number, or other personal information.
Risks of Exposing Your IP
1. Geographic Tracking
Websites can determine approximately where you are located and customize content (or prices) based on your location. Some services block access from certain countries.
2. Targeted Attacks
If someone knows your IP, they can potentially:
- Attempt to scan your router for vulnerabilities
- Perform DDoS attacks (flood your connection with traffic)
- Try to exploit security holes in your devices
Note: These attacks require technical knowledge and are illegal. Most home users are not targets for such attacks.
3. Connection to Online Activity
Websites and advertisers can use your IP address (combined with other data) to track your browsing history and create a profile of your interests.
4. Legal Requests
Authorities can request information from internet providers about who had a certain IP address at a specific time. This is used in criminal investigations.
How to Protect Your IP Address
1. Use a VPN
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your traffic and replaces your IP with the VPN server's IP. This is the most effective way to hide your IP for regular users.
2. Use Tor
The Tor network routes your traffic through multiple encrypted nodes around the world, making it very difficult to trace your original IP. However, it's slower than VPN.
3. Use a Proxy
A proxy server acts as an intermediary and hides your IP. However, most proxies don't encrypt your traffic, so they offer less protection than VPN.
4. Use Mobile Data
Mobile networks often use CGNAT, which means you share an IP with thousands of other users. However, your mobile provider can still see your traffic.
Security Tips for Your Router
Your router is the first line of defense. Here are some tips:
- Change the default password – "admin/admin" is not secure
- Update firmware – Security updates are important
- Turn off WPS – WiFi Protected Setup has known security flaws
- Use WPA3/WPA2 – Avoid older encryption methods like WEP
- Enable the firewall – Most routers have built-in firewalls
- Turn off remote administration – Unless you need it
What is an IP Leak?
An IP leak occurs when your real IP address is revealed despite using a protection tool like VPN. Common causes:
- WebRTC leak – Browser feature that can reveal your IP
- DNS leak – DNS requests go outside the VPN tunnel
- IPv6 leak – VPN doesn't support IPv6 but your connection does
You can test for IP leaks by visiting VisaIP.se with your VPN turned on and checking that the IP address matches the VPN server's address.
Summary
Your IP address is part of how the internet works, and it's important to understand what it can reveal. For most users, the biggest issues are tracking and geographic restrictions, rather than direct security threats.
If you want to protect your privacy, a VPN is the easiest and most effective option for daily use.