Wondering what is an IP address is? An IP address (short form of Internet Protocol address) is a unique string of numbers that identifies any device on a network. It is somewhat like your home address – to find the location of your home; the IP address allows computers to find each other and exchange information, much like a physical address allows the post office to deliver mail to your door.
There are two type of Ip address, Public or Private. Public IP Address is IP address assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP) to your router. This is how the rest of the internet identifies your household or office. Whereas Private IP Address is assigned by your router to individual devices (like your phone, laptop, or smart fridge) within your own home network.
As I told you, an IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique numerical label assigned to every device connected to a network. Without an IP address, devices wouldn’t know where to send or receive data. Now there are two versions of IP address is using : IPv4 (currently using) and IPv6 (new Version). The IPv4 uses 4 sets of numbers and can about 4.3 billion possible addresses. This is the most common format, looking like 192.157.1.1. It uses a 32-bit number system. The IPv6 is much longer than IPv4 and supports almost unlimited devices. The IPv6 is the newer version that created because the world ran out of IPv4 addresses. It looks like 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0270:7324.
The easiest way to find your Public IP address is type “What is my IP address?” in the Google search bar in your browser. Google will display your public IP at the top of the results. You can use tools like, whatismyipaddress.com, or whatismyip.com.
To find your private IP address, on Windows 11 computer, Go to Settings > Network & internet > Properties.
In Windows using command prompt: to open Command Prompt Press Win key + R then Type cmd, type ipconfig, and hit Enter. Look for IPv4 Address column in the result.
On Mac: Go to Apple Menu > System Settings > Network > Wi-Fi > Details.
On Android devices: Go to Settings > About phone > Status information (or Network & internet > Wi-Fi > Gear icon).
On iPhone or iPad: Go to Settings > Wi-Fi > tap the (i) icon next to your network. Look for IP Address.
On Gaming console: Go to Settings > Network > View Connection Status (PS5/Xbox).
You can check your own public ip address right now by simply searching “what is my ip” on Google or using any of the above mentioned methods.
