How to hide your IP address (and why you should)

When you head out into public, to a coffee shop to meet friends or a convenience store for some supplies, you don't usually have your phone number or home address pasted to the back of your jacket. However, when you browse the internet, that's sort of what happens, except with your internet protocol (IP) address. Nothing would usually come of wearing your address prominently on your jacket, but that one time something did happen you'd wish you'd taken a precautionary step. In the case of an IP address, that step is hiding it from the public.

What is an IP address?

The internet is a big place. That big place is filled with websites and connected computers that access and host them. To keep track of the computers on the internet, each one that's connected is assigned an IP address. It's sort of like how you differentiate homes on a street by their numbers, except here the numbers are longer.

Network settings

There are two main types of IP address: IPv4 and IPv6. The former was introduced back in the '80s but is still used for most internet traffic today. Due to its 32-bit format, there are only about 4 billion possible addresses available. An IPv4 address usually looks something like this: 168.90.0.255

IPv6 addresses were introduced as an answer to the waning number of available IPv4 addresses. They use a 128-bit address, which provides an enormous number of possible options — more than will be needed for a long, long time. An IPv6 address usually looks something like this: 2001:0db8:0000:0042:0000:8a2e:0370:7334

Instead of having to type specific IP addresses into a web browser, something called a Domain Name System (DNS) exists which translates URLs into IPs. For example, when you launch a web browser and type a URL (such as www.windowscentral.com), the DNS recognizes it, finds the IP address of the site, and sends it back to be displayed on your screen.

Since most of the IP address stuff is taken care of automatically when you connect to the internet, why should you care?

Why hide or mask your IP address?

Have you ever seen advertisements on the sides of your browser that tell you there's something going on in your city? Those aren't a coincidence — and there probably aren't actually any singles looking to mingle.

Your IP address can be used against you for those annoying ads, and it can also be used for more malicious purposes. Just like someone can track you down when they know your home address, they can also track you down (in a virtual sense) when they know your IP address.

The Libyans!

Hiding your IP address can be a defensive tactic, but it can also be an offensive tactic. Is there a geo-restricted website or video you really want to watch? Hiding your IP will trick the other party into thinking you're located somewhere you aren't — somewhere that can get past the geo-restriction.

These are a couple of basic reasons you might want to hide or mask your IP. There are plenty more reasons not listed here that we won't get into (make sure you stay on the legal side of things no matter what you do), and there are a few ways you can make sure your actual IP address is not discovered.

Hide your IP address with a proxy

Using a proxy server is probably the easiest way to hide your IP address, especially if you only need to hide it temporarily.

The proxy server acts sort of like a mask when you're browsing the web. You send a request out, and the proxy intercepts and fulfills the request under its own IP. Interested parties can still see the traffic between your computer and the proxy, so they are best used when dealing with non-sensitive data.

There are a number of free proxies available, but they are generally not very trustworthy. If you decide to use a free proxy, make sure you don't transmit any personal information, and consider using a proxy checker, like the one created by haschek solutions. Furthermore, a great article on Wired talks about how proxy servers are becoming increasingly unsafe.

See Proxy Checker at haschek solutions

While free proxy servers are easy to find, easy to set up, and they will effectively hide your IP, a much better alternative is to use a paid, trusted proxy server. These generally come bundled with a Virtual Private Network (VPN), so in that case, it's good to know the differences between the two services.

See the difference between a proxy and a VPN

Hide your IP address with a VPN

A VPN works sort of like a proxy in that it changes your IP address, but it also offers protection for all internet traffic leaving your computer. When information leaves, it is routed to the VPN server where it is then sent out with a different IP — usually one that is used by enough people to make you hard to track.

Unlike a proxy, where there is weak or no encryption between your PC and the server, a VPN sets up a sort of encrypted tunnel between your device. By the time your request hits the open internet, it's using a different IP address and is generally one of many requests.

The only problem with VPNs is that they're usually pricey, especially for the good ones. Your itch to watch a geo-restricted video on YouTube might not warrant the subscription price. Nevertheless, in an age of waning privacy and rampant spying, it's never a bad idea to use a VPN.

See our choice for the best VPNs available

Wrapping up

There are definitely other options for hiding your IP — like The Onion Router (Tor) — but those require and deserve an article of their own to explain their intricacies and legalities. If you've already used Tor in the past, you likely understand how it can be used perfectly well for legal purposes. But it can also be easily used for illegal purposes.

Not everyone needs to hide their IP address, and the majority of internet users go about their business without worrying. If you're a bit more security- or privacy-minded, hiding your IP address might be a welcome step. In that case, make smart decisions on which service you use — whether a proxy or VPN or both — and trust your instinct. If you see no ratings and a low, low price for a VPN, you probably want to look elsewhere. Free proxy IP you found on some forum? Probably not the best idea.

Happy interneting, everyone.

Cale Hunt
Senior Editor, Laptop Reviews

Cale Hunt is formerly a Senior Editor at Windows Central. He focuses mainly on laptop reviews, news, and accessory coverage. He's been reviewing laptops and accessories full-time since 2016, with hundreds of reviews published for Windows Central. He is an avid PC gamer and multi-platform user, and spends most of his time either tinkering with or writing about tech.

18 Comments
  • Happy Interneting everyone! nice touch there.
  • Great Article, torrent sites are mostly unsafe nowadays, VPN is a good solution but Pricey cuz every quality thing comes with a wow 😲 price. Haha
  • Remember, proxies are pretty much unsafe to use. And even VPN providers have a range of quality.
  • Good article but there's really no need to blur local IP from the pictures.
  • I went the VPN route since I hang out in coffee shops and public libraries a lot these days. PureVPN is working out well for me. Support is very responsive. I grabbed a lifetime subscription from the Windows Central store during a sale.
  • If you are concerned about security, don't use either one of these methods.
  • VPNs and proxies can be used for illegal purposes. Author singling out TOR is ridiculous. also you know what else this site should do? try using this comment box with edge. Windows central's inability to test microsoft's flagship browser on their own comment feet should be illegal!
  • You can never completely hide your IP address.

    If we take the "numbers of homes on a street" analogy from the article, using a proxy is simply preparing a letter for someone, then sending it in a larger envelope to a friend's address with a note asking him to put it in the mailbox for you, with his own address as the return address.
    ​A VPN would be about the same except that you cipher the letter with a code only known by your friend, and he'll decipher it before putting it in the mail.
    ​The return trip follows the same path, with the recipient sending his response to your friend, who then puts it in a larger envelope and send it to you. It is impossible to communicate over the Internet if each hop cannot figure out the IP address of the next hop in the transmission. Your PC must know the IP address of your router (gateway), the router must know the IP address of the server you're talking to, and the other way around the server must know the address of your router. Inserting a proxy or VPN gateway in the path means the server might not know you, but it will have to know the IP of that VPN gateway or proxy server. While the recipient doesn't know your IP, the VPN or proxy now does, and they can do just about anything they want with it, including injecting their own ads in web pages using protocol inspection, or reselling the information about your online activities. You better have a good trust in that friend, as you're letting him see everything you do. If the recipient needs your IP, they can ask the intermediary they know about, either paying for the information, or in most countries, force them to disclose the information in case of a legal investigation.
    ​They can also guess you're trying to hide your IP as they see your friends's address is used by too many different people to make sense, and deduce it means he's selling his address to people who want to send messages without giving out their real address. This means companies can maintain a list of known VPN gateways and proxies IPs and simply refuse to provide any service to those to enforce geo-restrictions.
  • Nice explanation of why VPN isn't helpful for every purpose. But those objections don't detract from a key benefit of a VPN: preventing snooping by others while you're online in a coffee shop or other public place.
  • You are not completely right with the proxy. The way it could be better described is sending a letter to a friend asking him to send the letter to somebody else and then return the reply to me. The friend send a NEW letter with HIS return address and when the reply comes in he again repackages the letter and sends it back to me.
  • It's this a promotion article for VPN providers?
  • nice article on security... at this time this informative article really helps me... create more of like this...
  • What's the best VPN for Windows 10 Mobile Phone?
  • I use vpn unlimited, the one pictured in the article. Works quite well across platforms including openvpn compatibility for things like server/router applications. They "don't keep logs" (that's up to you to believe or not) and has worked with Netflix from time to time even after their VPN lock down. Available for cheap with lifetime deals everywhere.
  • I only hide it when browsing the Darknet and ordering Fleshlights for all my friends.
  • Using a 3rd party VPN is like not using a VPN at all. You can never be sure what's going on in the VPN provider network.
  • Opera browser has a free integrated VPN, though I don't know if it's suitable (fast enough) for viewing live streams, for example
  • You cant HIDE an IP address. You're using a VPN or Proxy with an another IP.