In plain English: your IP address is the number your internet connection uses online, and every website you visit can see it. It gives away your rough location and your internet provider, and it helps sites recognise you from one visit to the next. Hiding it means websites see a different address instead of yours. There are plenty of ordinary, legitimate reasons to want that: some privacy on a public network, seeing how your own website looks from another country, running more than one account where a platform's rules allow it, or simply giving advertisers less to follow you with. Below are five methods that work, how each one does its job, and the catch that comes with each.
Quick start in 3 steps
- See what you're showing now: open our my IP tool and run a DNS leak test.
- Pick one of the five methods below, using the guide near the end if you're unsure.
- Run both checks again and compare. A changed address with no leak means it's working.
First, know your starting point
Those two checks from the quick start are worth understanding. The IP tool shows the public address websites see right now, along with the location and provider it points to. The DNS leak test looks at a separate step: before your device opens a website, it asks a DNS server to turn the site's name into a number, and those questions can reveal your real provider even when everything else is hidden. Write down what both tools show. That's your "before" picture.
Method 1: A proxy server
Think of a proxy as a middleman for your web traffic. Your request goes to the proxy, the proxy fetches the page, and the website sees the proxy's address instead of yours. It's a very adaptable option: you choose the type and the country, and you can send just one app through it, such as one browser, rather than your whole device. We offer four types, each suited to different jobs:
- Datacenter proxies run on servers in data centres. They're quick and the lower-cost choice, and they suit sites that don't mind server traffic.
- Residential proxies use addresses that internet providers give to real homes, so they suit browsing from a chosen location and research on stricter sites.
- Mobile proxies go through 4G and 5G phone networks, for when a site expects visitors on a phone connection.
- Residential premium is a selected part of our residential pool, for the few sites that keep turning ordinary residential addresses away.
You can set a proxy up in your browser, in your computer's network settings or in code, and it takes a few minutes. Our details come as a host:port address with a username and password. In Python, for example, it looks like this:
import requests
proxies = {
"http": "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT",
"https": "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT",
}
r = requests.get("https://api.ipify.org", proxies=proxies, timeout=15)
print("Visible IP:", r.text)The website now sees the proxy's address. When you're ready to compare options, see the proxies page or the pricing page. Good for: controlling one app at a time, picking an exact country, web scraping, checking adverts and managing accounts within each platform's rules.
What it can't do: a proxy doesn't encrypt your traffic on its own, and it only covers the apps you point at it.
Method 2: A VPN
A VPN, short for virtual private network, encrypts everything your device sends and routes it through a server somewhere else. To websites, every app on the device then seems to come from that server's address. The encryption is the big selling point, and it makes a VPN a good companion on networks you don't trust, such as café, hotel or airport Wi-Fi. Good for: everyday privacy, protecting yourself on public Wi-Fi and covering all of a device's traffic at once.
What it can't do: it usually covers the whole device rather than a single app, and you're limited to the locations your VPN company offers.
Method 3: Tor
Tor, a free network run by volunteers, passes your traffic through several relays in a row and adds a layer of encryption for each one. No single relay knows both who you are and where you're going. That makes it strong on anonymity, and it costs nothing. Good for: reading and research where privacy matters far more than speed.
What it can't do: all those hops make it noticeably slow, and many websites block or repeatedly challenge visitors arriving from Tor. Streaming, big downloads and anything that needs speed are a poor fit.
Method 4: Public Wi-Fi, with care
Connect to a different network, say at a library or a coffee shop, and you get a different public IP address for free, because you're borrowing that network's address. There's nothing to set up. Good for: a quick, temporary change with no tools at all.
What it can't do: you can't choose the location, the address changes every time you move, and public networks are often poorly secured. Never sign in to anything sensitive on open Wi-Fi without extra protection such as a VPN.
Method 5: A new address from your provider
Sometimes the goal is just a fresh home address, with no need to appear somewhere else. That's a job for your internet provider. Many home connections have a dynamic IP, one that can change when the router restarts or when the provider's lease on the address runs out. Switch your router off, wait a few minutes and switch it back on, and you may get a new address. For a lasting change, ask your provider. Good for: getting a fresh home address without any extra tools.
What it can't do: your new address still points to the same area and the same provider, so it doesn't hide where you are. Some connections keep the same address no matter how often the router restarts.
What none of these can do
Hiding your IP address is one piece of privacy, not the whole picture. If you sign in to an account, that site knows it's you whatever address you use. Cookies, the small files sites store in your browser, can still recognise you across visits. And none of these methods makes anything legal that wasn't already.
Which one should I pick?
- Want to choose the country and send just one app through it? A proxy gives you that control, and you can match the type to the task.
- Want everything on your device encrypted on hotel or café Wi-Fi? Choose a VPN.
- Want strong anonymity and don't mind slow speeds? Try Tor.
- Only need a quick, short-lived change? Borrow public Wi-Fi for a while, or give your router a restart.
Is this allowed?
Hiding your IP address is legal in most places, and it's a normal privacy habit. A few countries restrict VPNs or Tor, so check the rules where you live if you're not sure. Whatever method you use, the services you visit still have their own rules, and so does the law where you are. Hiding your address is about privacy and flexibility. It's not a way around a platform's terms, and it's not a way around the law.
Check that it worked
Once your chosen method is running, test it rather than assuming. Reload the my IP tool to make sure the address on show has changed, and repeat the DNS leak test, which tells you whether your look-ups still go to your own provider. An address that's hidden while DNS leaks isn't private.
Beginner questions
Does incognito or private mode hide my IP address?
No. Private browsing stops your browser keeping history and cookies on your own device after you close the window. Websites still see your normal IP address.
Proxy or VPN: aren't they the same thing?
Not quite. Both put another address in front of yours. A VPN normally encrypts all of your device's traffic, while a proxy usually covers only the apps you set it up in and doesn't encrypt by itself.
Will hiding my IP make me anonymous?
Not on its own. It removes one of the clues websites use. Logging in, cookies and the details you type in can all still identify you.
Hiding your IP address is straightforward once the method matches the need. For control over location and which apps use it, a good proxy fits well. For encrypting everything, use a VPN, and for strong anonymity at slow speeds, use Tor. Start with the two checks, pick your tool, then check again.
