How to Hide Your IP Address
By Daniel Last updated July 4, 2026
To hide your IP address, route your traffic through a server that has a different one: connect through a VPN (the easiest option), a proxy, or the Tor browser. Switching to another network or to mobile data also changes your visible IP. Every website then sees that address instead of yours.
Your public IP is visible to every site you visit by design, so masking it always means borrowing someone else's address. Here are the five practical methods, ranked by how well they actually protect you, and how to verify the switch worked.
Why hide your IP address?
Hiding your IP adds privacy: it stops sites and observers from tying your approximate location and ISP to your activity, helps you avoid IP-based tracking and bans, and keeps public-facing exposure low. It is optional for most people. See what someone can actually do with your IP to judge whether you need it.
The methods at a glance
| Method | Privacy | Speed | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| VPN | High | Fast | Everyday all-traffic privacy |
| Proxy | Low–medium | Fast | Hiding one app or browser |
| Tor | Very high | Slow | Maximum anonymity for browsing |
| Different network | Low | Varies | A quick, temporary new IP |
| Mobile data | Low | Fast | A fast switch off home Wi-Fi |
Torn between the top three? We compare them head to head in VPN vs proxy vs Tor: which should you use?
1. Use a VPN (recommended)
A VPN (Virtual Private Network) encrypts your connection and sends it through one of its servers, so every website sees the server's IP rather than yours. It covers all apps on your device at once and is fast enough for streaming and video calls. Pick a reputable no-logs provider, install its app, and connect. That is the whole process. This is the best balance of privacy, speed, and ease for almost everyone.
One trade-off: your VPN provider can see your real IP and traffic, so you are trusting them instead of your ISP, which is why a no-logs, reputable provider matters. The EFF's Surveillance Self-Defense project has vendor-neutral advice on judging whether a VPN deserves that trust. Your ISP can still see that you are using a VPN, just not what you do through it.
2. Use a proxy server
A proxy relays traffic for a single app or browser, swapping in its own IP. It is handy for quick, app-specific hiding, but most proxies do not encrypt your traffic and offer weaker privacy than a VPN. Treat it as a lightweight option, not full protection.
3. Use the Tor browser
Tor bounces your browsing through several volunteer-run relays, so no single point sees both who you are and what you visit. It offers the strongest anonymity here, but it is noticeably slower and only protects what you do inside the Tor browser, which is free and available from the official Tor Project site. One caveat: the final relay (the exit node) can see any unencrypted traffic you send, so stick to HTTPS sites. Best when anonymity matters more than speed.
4. Switch to a different network
Connecting through another network (a friend's Wi-Fi, a café, or a library) gives you a completely different public IP for as long as you are on it. It is a quick, free way to get a new address, but the network operator can see your traffic, so it is convenience, not privacy.
5. Use your mobile data
Turning off Wi-Fi and using your phone's cellular data instantly switches you to your carrier's IP instead of your home one. It is the fastest way to change your visible IP on the go, though your carrier still sees the traffic and the location is still approximate.
Check that it worked
After connecting through any of these, confirm the change: open our What Is My IP Address tool and make sure the IP and location shown are the new ones, not your real address. If you are using a VPN, also run our WebRTC leak test, because browsers can leak your real IP through WebRTC even while the VPN is connected. We never log or store whatever IP we detect, so it is a safe way to verify.