What Is an IP Address Lookup?
An IP address lookup takes an IP address and returns what is publicly known about it: the network that announces it, the organization behind that network, and an estimate of where it is used. It helps answer questions such as which ISP uses an address, or which country it appears to be in. It is a lookup of public records and measurements. It is not a way to find out who is using an address.
How to Look Up an IP Address
- Type or paste one IPv4 or IPv6 address into the box.
- Press Lookup. The page first checks the format and range of the address in your browser.
- If it is a public address, the details come back from a lookup service. Otherwise the page explains why it cannot be looked up.
To see your own public IP address instead, use the home page. To find the IP addresses behind a domain name, use the DNS Lookup tool.
What the Results Mean
| Field | What it means | How far to trust it |
|---|---|---|
| Address type | Whether the address is public or falls in a private, loopback, link-local, documentation, multicast, reserved or transition range. This is decided in your browser from the published IANA address registries. | Reliable for the ranges listed. It says nothing about whether a public address is currently in use. |
| Country | The country where the address is estimated to be used. | Usually right, but not guaranteed. Mobile, satellite and international networks are often wrong. |
| Region and city | The state, province or city the address is estimated to be in. | Much less reliable than country. It may be a nearby city or the ISP’s regional hub. |
| ISP / organization | The company that the lookup service associates with the address. | Usually reliable, but it can be a hosting company, a mobile carrier or a company that leases the address. |
| ASN | The Autonomous System Number of the network that announces the address, shown as AS followed by a number. | Usually reliable for who routes the address, which is not always who uses it. |
| Time zone | The time zone of the estimated location, with its current UTC offset. | As reliable as the location it comes from. |
| Approximate coordinates | A latitude and longitude for the estimated area, rounded here to two decimal places. | A general area only. Never treat it as a home or business address. |
If a lookup service does not provide a field, the tool shows “Not provided” instead of guessing.
How Accurate Is IP Geolocation?
IP geolocation is an estimate. There is no built-in location in an IP address. Lookup providers combine registry records, network measurements and data from ISPs, and infer a location from that. The result is often right about the country, less often right about the city, and never precise enough to identify a street, a building or a person.
Accuracy is lower for mobile networks, satellite internet, corporate networks, VPNs and addresses that have recently moved between organizations. For more detail, read what an IP address can reveal about your location.
Why Different Lookup Tools Show Different Results
Each provider keeps its own database and updates it on its own schedule. Two tools can disagree about a city, or label the same network with slightly different organization names. When results matter, compare more than one source and treat the country and ASN as more dependable than the city.
Public, Private and Special-Purpose Addresses
Only public addresses can be located. Addresses reserved for other purposes are recognised in your browser and are not sent to any lookup service. This includes:
- Private addresses, such as
10.x.x.x,172.16.x.xto172.31.x.x,192.168.x.xand IPv6fc00::/7, used inside local networks. See public vs private IP addresses. - Loopback and link-local addresses, such as
127.0.0.1,::1,169.254.x.xandfe80::/10, which only work on your own device or link. - Carrier-grade NAT space,
100.64.0.0/10, shared by many customers of an ISP. - Documentation, benchmarking and reserved ranges, used in examples, testing and for future use.
- Multicast and broadcast addresses, which identify groups rather than single devices.
- Transition addresses, such as 6to4, Teredo and NAT64, which are produced by tunnelling and translation methods. A lookup would describe the tunnel, not a real place.
The tool follows the published IANA special-purpose address registries and is deliberately cautious. If a range is mixed or unclear, it is treated as special rather than public. Public IPv4 and IPv6 addresses are explained in IPv4 vs IPv6.
What ISP and ASN Tell You
The ISP or organization shows which company is associated with the address. The ASN identifies the network that routes it. Together they can show whether an address belongs to a home ISP, a mobile carrier, a hosting company or a business. Read more about finding your ISP and what an ASN is.
Can This Tool Detect a VPN or Proxy?
No. This tool does not detect VPNs, proxies, hosting services or Tor, and it makes no claim either way. An organization name can sometimes suggest a hosting or VPN provider, but that is only a hint. See VPN detection and proxy detection to understand what such checks can and cannot show.
Privacy: What Happens When You Look Up an Address
Nothing is sent when the page loads. When you press Lookup on a public address, your browser sends that address to a third-party lookup service: ipwho.is first, then GeoJS, then ipapi.co, and a later service is contacted only if the earlier one fails. The service also receives normal connection details, such as your own IP address and browser information, and handles them under its own privacy practices.
Private and special-purpose addresses are checked in your browser and are not sent. This tool does not use cookies, does not save lookups in your browser’s storage, and keeps no history. After a lookup the page address includes the IP so you can share it, which means it may appear in your browser history. Opening a link that contains an address only fills in the box. Read the full privacy policy.
Related Tools and Guides
- Check your own IP address
- What is an IP address?
- IP location explained
- DNS Lookup
- User Agent Checker
- About this site
Frequently Asked Questions
What does an IP address lookup show?
For a public address, it shows the IP version, the approximate country, region and city, the ISP or network organization, the ASN and the time zone, when the lookup service has that information. Any field it does not provide is shown as “Not provided”.
Can an IP address lookup find someone’s exact location?
No. IP geolocation estimates a general area, often a city or region, and sometimes only the ISP’s network hub. It cannot give a street address and does not identify a person.
Why does the tool not look up my private IP address?
Private addresses such as 192.168.1.1 are reused on millions of local networks, so they have no public location or owner. The tool recognises them in your browser and does not send them anywhere.
What happens to the IP address I enter?
When you press Lookup, a public address is sent to a third-party lookup service: ipwho.is first, then GeoJS or ipapi.co only if the earlier service fails. Those services also receive normal connection details such as your own IP address and browser information, and handle them under their own privacy policies. This site does not store lookup history.
Why do different IP lookup tools show different cities?
Providers build their data from different sources, such as registry records, network measurements and ISP-supplied information, and update it on different schedules. For many addresses the results legitimately differ.
Does IP lookup work for IPv6 addresses?
Yes. The tool accepts standard IPv6 text, including short forms with “::”, and shows the address in its standard short form. Coverage and accuracy of IPv6 data can vary by provider.
What is an ASN?
An Autonomous System Number identifies a network that routes traffic on the internet, such as an ISP, a cloud provider or a company. The ASN shown is the one the lookup service associates with the address.
Can this tool tell me if an IP address is a VPN or proxy?
No. This tool does not claim to detect VPNs, proxies, hosting services or Tor. The ISP or organization name may sometimes hint at a hosting or VPN provider, but that is not a verdict.
Why was my address marked as reserved or special-purpose?
Some ranges are set aside for private networks, testing, documentation, multicast and transition technologies such as 6to4, Teredo and NAT64. The tool treats these cautiously and does not send them to lookup services.
Can I share a link to a lookup?
After a lookup, the page address includes the IP so you can share it. Opening such a link only fills in the box. No lookup happens until you press Lookup. The address may also appear in your browser history.