How it works
When the page loads it makes one request to our server and reports back exactly what the internet sees about that connection: the public IP address your traffic exits from, its IP version (IPv4 or IPv6), the reverse DNS (PTR) name registered for that address if any, whether the request arrived via Cloudflare, and the X-Forwarded-For header if a proxy or load balancer added one. It also echoes the User-Agent and Accept-Language strings your browser sent. Nothing is typed in & nothing is configured, the values are read from the connection itself.
Read the output top-down. The large address is what you would give a firewall admin or support engineer as "my IP". If IP Version shows IPv6, you are on a modern dual-stack network and this long colon-separated address may differ from the IPv4 a different site sees. Reverse DNS often names your ISP or hosting provider (for example a .comcast.net or .amazonaws.com hostname); "None" simply means no PTR record is published and is not a problem. Via Cloudflare = Yes means the request passed through Cloudflare's network, in which case the IP shown is your real client IP as forwarded by Cloudflare, not Cloudflare's own. A value in X-Forwarded-For means a proxy is in the path; the left-most address in that list is usually the original client. Use the Copy button to grab the address for an allow-list ticket, or Geolocate to see the approximate region tied to it.
Public vs. private IP ranges (reserved networks)
The address this tool shows is your public IP. Almost every device also has a private IP behind NAT that the internet never sees. These reserved ranges are defined by the IETF and are never routable on the public internet:
| Range (CIDR) | Type | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| 10.0.0.0/8 | Private IPv4 (RFC 1918) | Large LANs; ~16.7M addresses |
| 172.16.0.0/12 | Private IPv4 (RFC 1918) | Mid-size LANs; ~1.05M addresses |
| 192.168.0.0/16 | Private IPv4 (RFC 1918) | Home/office routers; 65,536 addresses |
| 100.64.0.0/10 | Carrier-grade NAT (RFC 6598) | Shared ISP/mobile NAT space |
| 169.254.0.0/16 | Link-local IPv4 (APIPA) | Auto-assigned when DHCP fails |
| 127.0.0.0/8 | Loopback | The local machine (localhost) |
| fc00::/7 | Unique local IPv6 (ULA) | Private IPv6 within a site |
| fe80::/10 | Link-local IPv6 | Single-link IPv6 auto-config |
If the IP above starts with one of these prefixes, you are seeing a private or CGNAT address rather than a globally unique public one.
Frequently asked questions
What can someone actually learn from my IP address?
An IP maps to your ISP or hosting provider and a rough geographic area: often only the city or region, and sometimes only the country. It does not reveal your name, street address, browsing history, or the contents of your traffic. Precise location comes from GPS or the account data your apps hold, not from the IP itself.
Why does my IP address keep changing?
Most residential and mobile ISPs hand out dynamic addresses via DHCP, so your public IP can change when the lease renews, the router reboots, or you move between networks. A static IP stays fixed but usually must be requested (often on a business plan). Connecting through a VPN or Cloudflare WARP also changes the exit IP this tool reports.
Why is my IP different on my phone and my laptop?
Each network path has its own public IP. A phone on cellular exits through the carrier's gateway, while a laptop on Wi-Fi exits through your broadband router, so the addresses differ. Even on the same Wi-Fi, an IPv6-capable device may show a v6 address while another shows v4.
What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?
IPv4 uses 32-bit addresses written as four dotted numbers (for example 203.0.113.7) and has about 4.3 billion possible addresses, which the internet has effectively exhausted. IPv6 uses 128-bit addresses written in hexadecimal groups (for example 2001:db8::1) and is vastly larger, enough to give every device a globally unique address without NAT.
Why does the tool say my request came via Cloudflare?
This site sits behind Cloudflare, so your connection is proxied through their network on the way in. When that happens, the address shown is still your client IP as forwarded by Cloudflare, not Cloudflare's server IP. The X-Forwarded-For field shows any additional proxy hops that added themselves to the request.