What is my IP address?

How to find public IP address?

When you visit a site, browsers automatically send some metadata about your computer to the server, including the IP address, the computer's name on the network (hostname), and other data. An IP address can be compared to a postal address on the internet: it indicates where the request came from.

The server determines the IP address from the metadata sent along with the request (so-called headers). These headers might change or replaced while the request from your browser travels through the network nodes to the server where your site is located. Different services and technologies use different headers to transmit IP. Below is a list of headers where the server may look for the IP address. Our service checks each of them in order until a valid IP address is found. If several IP addresses are indicated in the header, the code chooses the first valid one from the list.

• X-Client-IP
• X-Forwarded-For
• HTTP-X-Forwarded-For
• Fly-Client-IP
• CF-Connecting-IP
• Fastly-Client-Ip
• True-Client-Ip
• X-Real-IP
• X-Cluster-Client-IP
• X-Forwarded
• Forwarded-For
• Forwarded
• DO-Connecting-IP
• oxygen-buyer-ip

Why might you need to know your IP address?

First, for resolving technical issues with internet connection or network settings. Knowing one's own IP allows the user to communicate with technical support more effectively, as well as to diagnose some network connection problems on their own.

Second, the IP address may be required for setting up remote access to devices or services, such as video surveillance, printers, FTP servers, or remote desktop. Knowing your external IP address, the user can set up access to their devices from anywhere in the world via the Internet.

Moreover, understanding which IP address is used is important for ensuring anonymity on the internet. Knowing your IP, the user can check how effectively anonymization tools, such as VPNs or proxy servers, are hiding their real address from third-party sites and services. It also helps to assess what information about the user and their device is available on the internet. Checking the data sent by the browser to the network allows the user to better control their personal information and privacy level online.