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Your IP address, explained: what websites can see
What an IP address is, what a website can learn from it, how a VPN changes it, and why the country shown is not always where the server is.
Key points
- Every website you open sees the public IP address your connection comes from.
- From that address, a site can guess your internet provider and a rough area, often a city or region, but usually not your street.
- With a VPN on, websites see the VPN server’s address instead. The IP check shows what this site sees right now.
What an IP address is
An IP address is the number that the internet uses to send data to your connection. Think of it as the return address on a letter: every request you send carries it, so the answer can find its way back. Your internet provider gives your home connection its public address. Inside your home, your router gives each device a private address as well, but websites never see those.
There are two versions in use: IPv4, the older and shorter kind, and IPv6, the newer and longer kind. Many connections have both.
What a website can learn from it
| From your IP address, a site can see … | How exact? |
|---|---|
| your internet provider or the network you use | usually exact |
| the country | usually right, but databases make mistakes |
| the region or city | often roughly right, sometimes wrong |
| your street or home | not from the address alone |
Apps and browsers can ask for your exact location separately, through GPS or Wi-Fi data. That needs your permission, and it has nothing to do with the IP address.
What changes with a VPN
When your VPN is on, your traffic leaves the tunnel at the VPN server. Websites see the server’s address, and the country that address databases link to it.
- Your device
- VPN servergives the site its own address
- Websitesees the server address and its country
Your real address stays between you, your internet provider, and the VPN provider.
Why the country is not always where the server is
You pick “Canada” in your VPN app, and the IP check shows Canada. That does not prove the server is in Canada. Some locations are virtual: the provider gives you an address registered in Canada, while the server stands somewhere else.
This is common. In this archive, providers themselves mark 430 of 1,673 listed locations as virtual. Our own latency measurements also place the server outside the listed country for 132 of 1,126 measured locations.
- marked as virtual: 430 (26 %)
- not marked as virtual: 701 (42 %)
- no information in the list: 542 (32 %)
A virtual location is not a trick in itself. Providers use them where they cannot rent servers. It matters if you need a server in the country, for example because of local laws or a slow connection over long distances.
How to see your own IP address
- Turn your VPN off and open the IP check. Note the address and the country.
- Turn your VPN on and reload the page.
- Compare: the address should be different, and the country should match the location you chose.
If nothing changes, read Is my VPN working?.
Next step
To understand where a location’s server really stands, read Virtual VPN locations or open the analysis of virtual locations.
The figures in this guide come from the archive and change with every data update. As of October 17, 2026.
Check it with the archive's data
- What is my IP address? Check your IP and location
- Virtual VPN locations: how many and which providers
Read next: Do you need a VPN? Advantages and disadvantagesAll guides