Scrawlspace › Developer Utilities
What's My IP Address?
See your public IP address, the approximate place and time zone it points to, and the details your browser shares with every website you visit. Unlike the other developer tools, this one has to ask Scrawlspace's server, because only the server can see the address your connection comes from. The other developer tools run entirely in your browser.
How to use What's My IP
- Open the page; your public IP address and whether it is IPv4 or IPv6 are shown at the top.
- Under What the server sees, check the City, Region, Country, Time zone (IP) and the User agent your browser sent.
- Under Your browser, see your device's time zone, languages, screen, platform, cookie and Do Not Track settings.
- Click Copy to copy your IP, or Refresh after switching network or VPN.
Frequently asked questions
What is my public IP address?
It's the address websites see when you connect, assigned by your internet provider, mobile operator or VPN. This page shows the one the Scrawlspace server sees.
What's the difference between a public and a private IP?
Your router gets a public IP from your provider; devices on your home or office network get private ones such as 192.168.1.10. Websites only see the public one, which is what this page shows.
Why does my IP show a different city?
IP location is approximate. It usually points to where your provider's network meets the internet, not your home. On mobile data the gateway can be in another city, and a VPN shows the VPN server's location.
How do I find my local (private) IP?
On Windows run ipconfig; on macOS run ipconfig getifaddr en0; on Linux run ip addr. On Android and iPhone it's in the Wi-Fi settings for the network you're connected to.
Why does my IP address keep changing?
Most home and mobile connections get a dynamic IP that the provider can reassign when the router restarts or the lease ends. A static IP is usually a paid option.
Is it dangerous if someone knows my IP?
Not by itself. It reveals your provider and a rough area, not your street address. A VPN or Tor hides it from the sites you visit, and switching to mobile data gives you a different one.
What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?
IPv4 addresses look like 203.0.113.5; IPv6 addresses are longer, like 2001:db8::1. Many networks have both, and the page shows the one your browser used to connect.
Does this tool contact a server?
Yes. To find your public IP the page asks Scrawlspace's server what address your request came from, and the location comes from that address. The user agent shown is the one your browser sent with the request. Everything under Your browser is read locally.
Public, private and shared addresses
Some IPv4 ranges are reserved for private networks (RFC 1918) and never appear on the public internet. Your router translates between them and its one public address (NAT), which is why every device at home shares the same public IP.
| Range | What it is |
|---|---|
| 10.0.0.0/8, 172.16.0.0/12, 192.168.0.0/16 | Private networks at home or work (RFC 1918) |
| 100.64.0.0/10 | Carrier-grade NAT, shared by a provider's customers (RFC 6598) |
| 127.0.0.0/8, ::1 | Loopback: the device itself |
| 169.254.0.0/16, fe80::/10 | Link-local, self-assigned when no router answers |
| fc00::/7 | IPv6 unique local addresses, the private range of IPv6 |
Carrier-grade NAT (CGNAT)
Many mobile operators, and some broadband providers, have more customers than IPv4 addresses. With CGNAT your router or phone gets an address in 100.64.0.0/10, and the operator shares one public IPv4 address among many customers. The address this page shows then belongs to the operator's gateway, which is why its city can be far from yours, and why you can't forward ports or host a server on it. Over IPv6 most devices get their own public address instead.
What websites learn about you
- Your IP address, and from it your provider and approximate location.
- Your user agent: the browser, its version and the operating system.
- Your preferred languages, time zone and screen size, which a site's script can read.
- Together these form a rough fingerprint. A time zone that doesn't match the IP's location is a common sign of a VPN. Compare zones with the timestamp converter's world clock.