IP lookup

What an IP lookup can tell you

Every public IP address sits in a block that is registered to a network operator. A lookup reads those public records, plus a location database, and reports what they hold for one address.

• The network behind it. The provider, its network number (ASN), and the organisation the block is registered to.
• A rough location. Country, and usually a region and city, with the timezone and local time that go with them.
• A hostname, if the operator has published a reverse DNS record for the address.

The lookup runs from your browser. The address you enter is sent to a third-party geolocation service, and its hostname is requested from a public DNS-over-HTTPS resolver. Nothing is sent to the address itself.

What it cannot tell you

An IP address identifies a connection, not a person. A lookup cannot give you a name, a street address, a phone number or a particular device. One address often serves a whole household or office, and on mobile and carrier-grade NAT networks many customers share it at the same time. Only the provider can link an address to an account at a given moment, and in most countries they release that only under a legal order.

Why the location is approximate

Location databases are built from registry records, routing data and measurements. They map blocks of addresses to a place, not individual lines, and the place is often where the provider keeps its equipment or has its registered office. The country is usually right. The city is a best guess and can be off by tens of kilometres, more on mobile and satellite connections.

The coordinates point to the middle of that guessed area. That is why they are shown to two decimals and marked approximate, and why the map uses a coarse marker rather than a street pin.

What an ASN is

The internet is a network of networks. Each independently run network, such as an internet provider, a cloud company or a university, is called an autonomous system and has a number written like AS64500. Routers use these numbers to tell each other which address blocks each network carries. The ASN in a result names the network that announces the address to the rest of the internet, and it is usually the most dependable fact in the lookup.

Provider and organisation

Provider is the network that carries the address: the internet provider or hosting company behind the ASN. Organisation is the name registered for the specific block. For a home connection the two are usually the same. When they differ, the organisation is typically a customer of the provider, such as a business with its own block that buys its connectivity from a larger network. To see the registration record itself, run a WHOIS lookup on the address.

VPN, proxy and hosting addresses

If the provider is a cloud or hosting company rather than a consumer internet provider, the address belongs to a server. A person who reaches you from it is using a VPN, a proxy or a relay service, and the location shown is the data centre, not the person. The same check works on your own VPN: switch it on, open My IP, press Check again, and look up the address it shows. The provider should be the VPN's host, not your own internet provider.

Addresses with no public location

Some ranges are never routed on the internet. The tool recognises them, explains the range, and does not send them to the location service.