The Definition of an IP Address

The IP address is an identification number assigned to a device connected to the Internet. Having an IP address allows the device to communicate with other devices that also have an IP address. This can be compared to a phone number calling another phone number. All IP addresses look like this: 123.45.67.89

What Is an IP Address Used For?

An IP address is used to identify a device connected to the network. Every device connected to the network has an IP address. The computer or smartphone you are using to visit this site has an IP address like 112.34.56.78. This IP is unique. No one else on the planet has the same IP address as you at this exact moment.

Okay, I have an IP address, but what is it for? Well, it’s essential for browsing the internet. Simply put, when you visit this page, it means that your device’s IP address connected to the IP address of our website ip-address.top, which is (for example) 192.169.226.73. To draw a comparison, it’s like two phone numbers calling each other.

OK, but I never typed 192.169.226.73 into my browser! That’s true — you only typed the domain name ip-address.top. Fortunately, a computer system translated that domain name into the IP number 192.169.226.73 on your behalf, thus enabling the connection between your computer and the server hosting our website. For your information, this Domain/IP translation system is called DNS.

The Different Types of IP Addresses

Not all addresses are used for the same purpose. There are private IP addresses, public IP addresses, static IP addresses, and dynamic IP addresses. To make things even more complex (at least on the surface), each type of IP address can be either an IPv4 or an IPv6 address. Let’s try to clarify all this…

Private IP addresses are used within an internal network, such as the one you probably have at home. These types of IP addresses are used to allow your devices to communicate with your router and with each other on your private network. Private IP addresses can be set manually or automatically assigned by your router.

Public IP addresses are used outside of your network and are assigned by your ISP (Internet Service Provider, such as Comcast, BT, Orange, etc.). This is the address your home or office network uses to communicate with the rest of the devices on the internet. It enables the devices in your home to connect to your provider and therefore to the outside world — allowing them, for example, to access websites, receive emails, or communicate directly with other computers. Both private and public IP addresses can be either dynamic (they change every time you reconnect) or static (you always have the same IP even after disconnecting/reconnecting).

IPv4 and IPv6: What’s the Difference? IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) is the oldest and most widely used version of IP addresses. It uses a combination of four sets of numbers (for example: 192.168.0.1), which allows for about 4.3 billion unique addresses. Due to the explosion in the number of connected devices, IPv6 was created as a successor. It uses longer addresses (such as: 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334), enabling an almost unlimited number of IP addresses. Today, IPv6 coexists with IPv4 on most networks.

Find My IP? But Why?

What is my IP address or How to know my IP? These are questions we hear very often. Indeed, finding your IP address is often essential for many reasons: online gaming, VoIP calls, tech support, remote computer connections, proxy detection, anonymity protection, geolocation, etc. Our site instantly displays your IP address and also offers an IP and domain name geolocation service, as well as a proxy list updated every 30 seconds.