How to Hide Your IP Address

Your public IP address can be hidden from a destination website by routing your connection through another network or intermediary, such as a VPN, proxy, or Tor. The website may then see the intermediary’s public IP instead of the public IP normally presented by your connection. This does not make you completely anonymous or prevent every form of tracking.

This guide explains the common methods at a high level, what each one changes, and what none of them change.

What Does “Hide Your IP Address” Mean?

Hiding an IP address generally means preventing a particular destination from seeing the public IP normally presented by your connection. Instead, the destination sees an address belonging to something else, such as:

• A VPN server
• A proxy server
• A Tor exit relay
• Another intermediary network

The original address does not disappear from the internet. It still exists and is still used to carry your connection. If you are new to the topic, start with what an IP address is. Your internet provider also still knows that you have a connection, because it supplies it.

Why Might Someone Want to Hide Their IP?

There are several legitimate privacy and security reasons:

• Reducing the direct exposure of your normal public IP to the websites you visit
• Using public Wi-Fi together with an appropriate privacy or security service
• Separating ordinary browsing from the IP normally presented by your home connection
• Limiting one piece of network-level information available to destination sites

Hiding an IP is not a way to avoid bans, get around platform rules, commit fraud, abuse services, or conceal harmful activity, and this article does not cover those uses.

Method 1: Use a VPN

A VPN (virtual private network) can create a protected connection between your device and the VPN service. For traffic routed through it, destination websites generally see the VPN server’s public IP rather than the one normally presented by your connection.

Some points to keep in mind:

• Your ISP still carries the connection to the VPN service.
• The VPN provider becomes an important trust point, since traffic passes through its systems.
• Behavior depends on the provider, protocol, app, and configuration.
• A VPN does not automatically provide complete anonymity.
• A VPN does not prevent cookies, logins, browser fingerprinting, or account-based tracking.

Websites and lookup services can sometimes recognize VPN traffic, as covered in VPN detection.

Method 2: Use a Proxy

A proxy relays certain requests through another server, so the destination may see the proxy’s IP instead of yours.

• Proxy behavior varies by protocol and configuration.
• Not every proxy encrypts traffic.
• A proxy may cover only one application or one type of traffic.
• A proxy does not automatically provide anonymity.
• The proxy operator is an important trust point.

For how proxy use can be inferred, see proxy detection.

Method 3: Use Tor

Tor is a privacy network that routes traffic through multiple relays. For traffic using Tor, a destination website normally sees the IP of the Tor exit relay rather than yours. The design aims to reduce the direct link between you and the destination.

Tor does not make every activity anonymous automatically. Logging in to an account that identifies you, or sharing personal information, can still identify you. Some websites also treat Tor traffic differently, for example by showing extra checks or limiting access.

Method 4: Use Another Network

Switching networks changes the public IP that websites see. Examples include moving from your home connection to mobile data, joining another Wi-Fi network, or using another legitimate internet connection.

This is not the same as becoming anonymous. The new network has its own public-facing network information, and its operator can still see that you are connected. It also usually presents a different public address rather than your local one, and how often that address changes depends on the provider, as explained in dynamic vs static IP.

Does Incognito Mode Hide Your IP?

No. Private or incognito browsing mainly changes how browsing history, cookies, and some local data are kept on your device during that browser session. That has real value for shared devices, but it does not normally hide your public IP from websites, your network provider, or other relevant network infrastructure.

Does Clearing Cookies Hide Your IP?

No. Cookies and IP addresses are different mechanisms. Clearing cookies may remove some identifiers stored in your browser, but it does not change or hide your public IP address by itself.

Does Changing Your IP Make You Anonymous?

No. A different visible IP can reduce one form of network-level identification, but websites and services may also rely on:

• Account logins
• Cookies
• Browser and device characteristics
• Application identifiers
• Session data
• Information you provide voluntarily

Browser fingerprinting, in simple terms, means combining many small characteristics of a browser or device into something recognizable. It is one reason a changed IP alone is not anonymity.

Can Websites Detect a VPN or Proxy?

Sometimes. Websites and lookup services may infer VPN or proxy use from IP classification databases, hosting or datacenter information, network ownership, ASN information, known service ranges, and other network intelligence.

Detection can produce false positives and false negatives, so a result is not absolute proof. You can read more in VPN detection and proxy detection.

Does Hiding Your IP Hide Your Location?

It may change the approximate IP-based location a destination sees, because the destination may see the intermediary network’s IP. However:

• IP geolocation is already approximate, as described in IP location.
• Changing the visible IP does not disable GPS.
• It does not remove location permissions you granted to apps or browsers.
• It does not stop you from sharing your location voluntarily.
• It does not guarantee location anonymity.

Can Your ISP Still See You Are Online?

Using an intermediary such as a VPN does not make your connection invisible to your ISP. The ISP still provides and carries your connection. For more on that role, see what an ISP is.

What the ISP can observe about your traffic depends on protocols, encryption, VPN configuration, DNS setup, and network architecture, so it is not accurate to say it sees everything or nothing.

Can You Hide Your IP Completely?

There is no simple tool that makes an IP address cease to exist. Internet communication requires network addressing. Privacy tools generally change which public IP a particular destination sees rather than eliminating addressing, and none of them promises absolute anonymity.

How to Check Whether Your Visible IP Changed

The WhatIsMyIP homepage shows the public-facing IP currently visible to the site, including your IPv4 address and IPv6 address when available, ISP and network information, and an approximate location. Differences between the two address versions are covered in IPv4 vs IPv6.

A changed result shows that the visible address is different. It does not prove complete anonymity or that a tool is working perfectly, and VPN or proxy indicators are not 100% accurate.

Check your current IP address

Which Method Should You Use?

• VPN: convenient for routing supported device or app traffic through another network, depending on configuration.
• Proxy: may be useful when only certain application or request traffic needs to pass through an intermediary.
• Tor: designed for stronger privacy properties, but it may be slower and some websites treat Tor traffic differently.
• Another network: changes the network and IP being used, but is not an anonymity system.

The right choice depends on what you want to protect, whom you trust, and how much convenience you need. You can read how the site handles information in the Privacy Policy.

Frequently Asked Questions