What Can Someone Do With Your IP Address?

Last Updated on April 15, 2025 by Editorial

You can be hacked, cyberstalked, spammed, or get your physical location leaked if your IP address falls in the wrong hands. You can also be hit with DDoS attacks that can disable your machines and even get swatted. in short, nothing good can come out of your IP address getting exposed. The good news is that you can change and hide your IP address.

An IP address (Internet Protocol address) is a unique numerical label assigned to every device connected to the internet. It serves as an identifier for that device, allowing it to communicate with other devices and servers on the internet. 

What Is an IP Address?

An IP address is kind of like your device’s home address on the internet. It’s a bunch of numbers (like 192.168.1.1) that lets other computers know where to find you and where to send stuff—like websites, emails, or messages.

Every device that connects to the internet—whether it’s your phone, laptop, smart fridge, or game console—gets one. Without it, the internet wouldn’t really work, because nothing would know where anything’s supposed to go. Think of it like sending a letter. If there’s no address on the envelope, the mail carrier has no clue where to drop it off. Same thing here, just with data instead of envelopes.

There are two main types of IP addresses: IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 is the older kind and looks like four numbers separated by dots, while IPv6 is longer and made up of letters and numbers—it was created because we’re running out of the older ones. You also might’ve heard of public vs. private IP addresses.

Your router at home has a public IP that connects to the internet, and then it gives out private IPs to all your devices. That’s how your laptop can stream shows while your phone scrolls social media, all at the same time. It’s one of those things working behind the scenes that most people never think about, but it’s absolutely needed to keep everything online connected.

Things One Can Do with Your IP Address

There are several things that someone can do with your IP address. Some of which may be potentially harmful or invasive. They include the following:

Find Out Where You Are (Roughly)

An IP address can show what city or general area you’re in. It won’t tell someone your house number or exact street, but it can narrow it down to your region or neighborhood. This is how websites know your location for weather updates or nearby stores.

Bad actors might use this info to guess your physical location and target you with scams or phishing, but it’s not precise enough on its own to show your exact address.

Track What You Do Online

Websites, advertisers, and even sketchy third parties can use your IP address to track your browsing habits. They’ll log it every time you visit a page, which helps build a profile of what you like, shop for, or watch.

This is why you might search for shoes once and then see shoe ads everywhere. It’s not magic—it’s your IP (and cookies) doing the work.

Try to Hack Your Network

This one’s more serious. If dangerous hackers gets your IP and you’re using an insecure setup (like no firewall or default router settings), they might try to poke around and get into your network.

They could:

• Try to guess your passwords
• Try to access open ports
• Send you malware or phishing links

Good news: if you’ve got a decent router, use strong passwords, and keep things updated, you’re probably okay.

Launch a DDoS Attack

Someone with your IP address can launch a DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack by sending a massive amount of traffic to your IP to overwhelm your internet connection or device. They usually do this using a botnet—a network of hacked computers that all send requests to your IP at once.

The goal? To slow down your internet, crash your connection, or make any online services you’re running (like a game server or website) unusable.

It doesn’t damage your hardware, but it can be super frustrating and cause temporary outages.

Block You From Stuff

Some websites or services might block your IP if they think you’re doing something shady—or if you’ve broken their rules. You could also get caught in someone else’s mess if you’re sharing an IP (common with public Wi-Fi or VPNs). Suddenly you can’t log in or access a site and have no idea why.

Send You Spam or Scam Attempts

Once someone knows your IP, they might try sending scam messages or spoofed emails that look like they’re from legit services you use. They’re hoping you’ll trust them because they “know” something about you.

Always double-check where messages are coming from, and don’t click random links—even if the sender seems familiar.

Combine With Other Info

Your IP alone won’t tell someone everything, but paired with other info (like your name, email, or leaked data), it can help someone build a clearer picture of who you are. This is often how online scams or identity theft start.

So yeah, your IP address isn’t a magic key, but it’s a puzzle piece. And some people are really good at puzzles.

How Can Someone Get Your IP Address?

There are several ways in which someone can obtain your IP address. Here are a few common methods:

Clicking on a Link They Control

This is one of the easiest ways. If someone sends you a link — maybe through email, social media, or even a message — and they control the site it takes you to, they can see your IP address. That’s because your device has to connect to their server to load the page, and servers automatically log IPs.

Even if the page looks harmless, they could be using it just to grab your IP. Be wary of clicking random links, especially from people you don’t know.

Emails (Kind of Sneaky)

Some emails can include little hidden images (called tracking pixels). When you open the email, it loads that image from a server, and boom — your IP gets logged.

This doesn’t happen with all emails, and some email apps block these by default. But it’s still something that happens in the background without you realizing it.

Peer-to-Peer Sharing (P2P)

If you’re using something like BitTorrent to download or share files, you’re connecting directly to other people’s devices. That means your IP is visible to everyone else sharing that file.

It’s part of how P2P works — your computer is basically saying, “Hey, I’ve got some of the file, here’s my address if you need it.”

Online Gaming

Games that use peer-to-peer connections instead of central servers often show your IP to other players. Some people actually use this to track others or even try to mess with their connection (like DDoS attacks).

Not all games do this, but a lot of multiplayer games, especially older ones or ones with voice chat features, might leak your IP.

Voice and Video Calls

Some voice and video calling apps used to show your IP address to the people you were calling — especially peer-to-peer ones. Skype used to be really bad about this before they fixed it.

These days, many apps use extra protection or route stuff through their servers. Still, if you’re using some lesser-known app, your IP might be exposed during a call.

By Hacking Your Device or Network

If someone manages to get into your computer or router (through malware, phishing, or just bad passwords), they’ll obviously know your IP. And a lot more.

This isn’t how most people get IPs — it’s more effort — but it’s a way. Some malware even sends back your IP info to whoever made it.

Chatting on Forums or Messaging Apps

In some cases, if you’re messaging or posting on a site and it’s run by someone shady (or if it’s a smaller site with weak security), your IP might be visible to moderators or even other users. This is more rare, but possible.

Some messaging apps, especially if they’re peer-to-peer, can expose your IP too — especially if they don’t have privacy protections in place.

Social Engineering

This one’s less technical. Let’s say someone messages you pretending to be tech support, a friend, or a company. They convince you to click a link, open a document, or visit a page. It feels normal… but they’re actually just trying to trick you into revealing your IP (or worse). This is called social engineering.

People can get surprisingly creative with how they ask — so if something feels weird, it probably is.

Your IP Is Already Out There (Kinda)

If you host anything — like a website, a Minecraft server, or anything that people can connect to — your IP is basically public. It has to be, so people can reach it.

Same thing goes for some smart home stuff if it’s not behind a firewall or VPN. If it connects directly to the internet and someone knows how to look, your IP might not be that hard to find.

How Can You Stop Your IP Address From Leaking Out?

You can take several steps to prevent your IP address from leaking out:

Use a Good VPN

This is probably the most popular method people go for. A VPN hides your real IP by rerouting your internet traffic through a server in another location. So instead of your home IP showing up, websites and apps only see the IP of the VPN server.

Virtual private networks are great if you want to appear like you’re browsing from another country, or if you’re just trying to stay more anonymous.

But here’s the thing—not all VPNs are created equal. Make sure you go with a VPN that has a strong kill switch. That means if the VPN connection suddenly drops, it’ll instantly block all traffic to prevent your real IP from leaking out.

Also look for DNS and WebRTC leak protection. These two are sneaky ways your IP can slip through even with a VPN. If your VPN provider mentions blocking those, that’s a good sign they’re serious about privacy.

Disable WebRTC in Your Browser

WebRTC is a feature built into most browsers that allows for real-time communication—like video chats and file sharing—right in the browser. Sounds handy, but the problem is it can expose your actual IP even if you’re using a VPN. Yeah, that’s annoying.

To stop that, you’ll want to either disable WebRTC entirely or use a browser extension that blocks it. In Firefox, you can turn it off in the advanced settings. In Chrome, you’ll need an extension like “WebRTC Control.” Once disabled, those sneaky requests can’t leak your IP. This is a must if you’re serious about keeping your IP under wraps while browsing.

Use a Privacy-Focused Browser

Some browsers do a better job than others at keeping things private. Browsers like Tor or Brave are built with privacy in mind.

Tor, for example, routes your connection through multiple servers (called nodes), making it extremely hard to trace your original IP. It also disables JavaScript-heavy stuff by default and blocks things like cookies and tracking scripts.

Brave isn’t quite as intense as Tor but it blocks trackers and ads right out of the box. It also has built-in fingerprinting protection, which helps prevent websites from identifying you based on your device and settings. That doesn’t directly leak your IP, but it does help with staying less visible online. Bonus: both are free.

Use a Proxy Server

A proxy server works kinda like a middleman. You send your traffic to the proxy first, and then it forwards it to the website. That site only sees the proxy’s IP address, not yours. Sounds good, right? It is—but it’s a bit more basic than a VPN. It doesn’t encrypt your traffic, so your ISP and others can still see what you’re doing.

Still, if you’re just looking to hide your IP from a website or get past a region block, a proxy can work just fine. There are browser extensions that let you switch proxies quickly, or you can set it up manually in your network settings. Just don’t count on it for total privacy.

Use a Mobile Network (Temporarily)

This one’s a bit more of a quick fix. If you need to mask your IP for a moment—say, to bypass a block or a limit—you can just switch to mobile data. Your mobile carrier assigns a different IP address than your home network.

So if you’re getting rate-limited or blocked while using Wi-Fi, turning on your phone’s hotspot or just using mobile data can give you a temporary new IP.

It’s not a long-term solution (especially if you have limited data), but it’s good to know. Just remember that it doesn’t protect you like a VPN would—it just swaps out your IP. Using a mobile VPN could significantly increase your security.

Stop Using IPv6

Many internet providers give you both an IPv4 and an IPv6 address. Some websites can accidentally grab your IPv6 address even if your VPN only hides your IPv4. That means—yep—your IP could still leak.

You can go into your device’s network settings and disable IPv6 manually. Once it’s off, your device won’t use it, and that’s one less leak to worry about. It’s a set-it-and-forget-it type thing. And no, it won’t break your internet.

Be Careful With Apps and Extensions

Sometimes it’s not your browser or VPN at fault—it’s those sneaky apps or browser extensions. Some of them (especially the free ones) send out requests that include your real IP, even while you think you’re protected. Not cool.

So what can you do? Only use trusted apps. Stick to VPNs and extensions with a good reputation and lots of reviews. Also, avoid logging into stuff that ties your real identity to your IP while using privacy tools. It defeats the purpose, right?

Conclusion

FAQ