![]() An IPv4 address reveals your geolocation: Whether you’re working from a coffee shop, your home, or a hotel across the world, an IPv4 address reveals the general location of your network.We published a more detailed article answering this question a few months ago. To check your IPv4, you will have to use an IP lookup like our Check IP page or What does my IPv4 address reveal about me? Google usually populates your IP address at the top of the search suggestions, but they usually display your IPv6 if your network supports both IPv4 and IPv6. There’s nothing secret about your own IPv4 address. It provides the domain host enough information about you for it to send you the information you’re looking for: the website. To be clear, your IPv4 address doesn’t give away any risky or exploitative information about you by itself. When you arrive on a domain, you’re providing certain data about your browsing history (where you’re coming from) and general location (from where you’re accessing the internet). Revisiting our letter analogy, imagine it’s like someone requesting your mailing address so that they can ship something to your house. That domain sends back a different strand of data that fulfills the page request, enabling you to see the website. When you arrive at any website, your computer sends a small amount of data to the website domain you’re visiting to request a page. The purpose of an IPv4 address is to exchange data with websites as you browse the web. Unfortunately, since these two protocols don’t work together, IPv4 will not be retired for its successor anytime soon. Most obviously, this newer implementation allows for a wider range of addresses than its predecessor, ensuring that new devices can be connected to the World Wide Web. IPv6 was designed to be the next-generation protocol that fixes the flaws and limitations of IPv4. What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6? But with increasing numbers of people around the world using the internet on multiple devices, there just aren’t enough IPv4 addresses for every internet user. The address structure of IPv4 supports over 4 billion IPs, which seemed like plenty at a time before the home computer was in every home. IPv4 was introduced in 1981, decades before the commonality of internet-connected devices. Like its name suggests, Internet Protocol version 4 is the 4th implementation of the Internet Protocol, and the most dominant protocol of the internet. There are currently two types of IP address protocols in use around the world: IPv4 and IPv6. But the address does give away personal information that can help identify you on the web. If someone found your IPv4 address, they couldn’t use it by itself to determine your name or your precise location. This information is made anonymous, known only to your ISP or network provider. These are combined into a single string of numbers that we call your IPv4 address. The IPv4 address reveals a network number (the location of the network) and a user number (a number given to the exact device using the network). This identification process is similar to how an IPv4 address works. When you send a letter in the mail, you typically address that letter to a person at a specific home number and street. Since it’s a version of your IP address, your IPv4 address is ultimately used to identify your device so you can send and receive data online.Ĭonsider someone’s physical address. The set of numbers is separated into four groups of digits, with each group representing a ‘byte.’ Every device’s IPv4 address is unique and looks something like this: 192.84.190.235 Your IPv4 address is what you’d consider your most standard IP address. If you’re familiar with the classic format of an IP address, then you’re already familiar with IPv4. To put it plainly, IP addresses are an essential part of how the internet works. IP addresses are the key differentiator that allow information to be sent between devices without improper delivery. The internet needs a way to tell the difference between all of the requests of computers, routers, and websites. Let’s dive in! What is an IP address?Īn IP address (or Internet Protocol address) is a numerical label that identifies a device on the internet and local network. You know you have an IP address, but what is an IPv4 address? What does it do and why do you have one? In this article, we’ll answer all these questions and more to give you some practical advice that makes your IPv4 address more private. ![]()
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