How can I hide my IP address?
The complete guide to how, when, and why you should hide your IP address with a secure VPN proxy service like ExpressVPN. Hide your location, protect your privacy, and restore your freedom in under two minutes.
Video: IP addresses and privacy explained
How to hide my IP address in 3 steps
Step 2
Connect to any of our server locations.
Step 3
Stay anonymous with your real IP address hidden by a different, shared IP.
Will having a shared IP address help?
When you use a VPN to connect to the internet, the VPN creates an encrypted connection, known as a tunnel, between your device and the internet. The VPN masks your IP address with its own IP address in the tunneling process. That IP address is shared with thousands of other VPN users—this makes it virtually impossible for anyone to trace your internet activity back to you.
By using a VPN, your own IP address is masked (or “scrambled”) by the VPN, protecting your location, identity, and online activity from anyone who wishes to find you through your IP address.
What does ‘hide my IP’ mean?
Everyone on the internet has a public IP address. Every time you connect to the internet, you’re sharing that IP address with every website, app, and service you use.
But if you use a VPN proxy, websites, apps, and services will see the public IP address of the VPN proxy server instead of your personal device. This is what it means to “hide my IP” or “change my IP”:
Websites, apps, and services may not even know that your IP address has been hidden or changed. From their perspective, you are simply an anonymous internet user.
Why would I want to hide my IP?
Your IP address says a lot about you. When you don’t hide your IP address, you’re probably revealing more than you realize about your location, your identity, and your activity, allowing other parties to control your online experience.
Hide my IP = Hide my location
IP addresses are often tied closely to a physical location. Anyone who knows your public IP address can make a very good guess as to where you are right now.
Depending on who you are, this can be either very convenient or very dangerous. Either way, most people want to be in control of who they reveal their location to and when, and don’t enjoy having their location revealed without their permission.
ExpressVPN lets you replace your IP address with a secure VPN IP address in any of 94 countries around the world, putting you back in control.
Hide my IP = Protect my identity
Because each device on the internet has a unique public IP address, that IP address can also be used to uniquely identify that device, which can be traced back to a single person. That makes it relatively easy for a website, service, or app to link specific internet activity to a specific person.
This is very convenient for people and companies who want to keep track of you, but not great for anyone who believes in personal privacy. If you’re not comfortable with third parties knowing which websites you visit, what you download, and who you talk to, you need to hide your IP.
Hide my IP = Restore my freedom
Knowing your public IP address allows websites, apps, and services to control your experience based on where or who they think you are. But if you can change your IP address, you can enjoy whatever experience you want.
Other parties along your connection, like your Wi-Fi network operator, internet service provider, or even government agencies, can also use your IP address to block, redirect, and censor your web activity. Proxying your traffic through a VPN with a different IP address allows you to defeat censorship and restore your freedom.
Different ways to hide your IP address
Some “proxy” services offer to hide your IP address without the security benefits of a VPN. You should be very careful when sending your traffic to an anonymous proxy service, especially if it advertises itself as a “free proxy.”
Free proxies may hide your IP address for free, but they may also monetize your traffic through trackers, ads, and other malware.
Proxy servers also generally lack the security benefits and other features of a premium VPN service. Check out what you get by hiding your IP address with ExpressVPN versus a free proxy.
With ExpressVPN:
Hides your IP address
256-bit AES encryption
Server locations in 94 countries
Network Lock / kill switch
No activity logs, no connection logs
24/7 live chat support
A proxy might only help to hide your IP address, but a VPN will secure it.
VPN for PC, Mac, iPhone, Android, and more
Game and media consoles
Or try ExpressVPN for Routers and protect your whole Wi-Fi network.
Don’t see your device here? Check out ExpressVPN’s setup guides to hide your IP address on a wide range of other devices with manual configurations.
Why is ExpressVPN the best choice to hide my IP?
Though there are many ways to hide your IP address, only ExpressVPN does so with a comprehensive set of security features and a die-hard commitment to privacy.
ExpressVPN employs a dedicated staff of security engineers in our Digital Security Lab to constantly investigate a wide range of new and emerging threats to your privacy, including DNS and WebRTC leak testing.
Stay tuned to the ExpressVPN blog to keep up-to-date on the latest trends in digital privacy and security improvements.
FAQ: Hiding your IP address
What is my IP address location?
To check your current IP and VPN server location, visit our What’s My IP Address online privacy and security tool. With this tool, you can also determine whether or not your IP address is secured or if websites can identify you.
Is hiding my IP address illegal?
Not at all! There are many benefits to hiding your IP address, and using a VPN is the best way to ensure protection to your privacy and security. Having said that, despite VPNs being legal in most countries and jurisdictions, it’s always a good idea to research different locations and their respective laws beforehand.
How do I hide my IP address location?
Using a VPN is the simplest, fastest, and safest way to hide your IP address location.
How will a VPN protect my IP address?
A VPN replaces your real IP address with a different one that’s shared by numerous users. With a new IP address, you can more easily hide your location, protect your identity, and enjoy a safe and secure online experience.
Does Tor hide my IP address?
As with use of a VPN, Tor can hide your IP address and anonymize your internet traffic. Further, using a VPN to connect to Tor will also hide your IP from the Tor entry node.
