IPWAVE / PRIVACY GUIDE

How to hide your IP address.

Your IP address helps internet traffic reach you. Learn how to change the address websites see—and what that does and doesn’t protect.

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THE BASICS

First, what does “hide” mean?

When you connect directly, a website can see the public IP address of your network. Routing your connection through another service can make that service’s IP address visible instead. Your provider and the service you use may still see information about your connection.

Important: Changing your IP is not the same as being anonymous. Accounts you sign in to, cookies, browser fingerprinting, and other signals can still identify you.

Ways to change the IP websites see

Use a VPN

A VPN routes supported device traffic through a VPN server, so websites generally see the server’s IP. Choose a provider you trust, review its privacy practices, and check features such as a kill switch. The VPN provider may see your traffic metadata.

Use Tor Browser

Tor Browser routes browser traffic through multiple relays. Websites see the exit relay’s IP rather than your home IP. It can be slower, and its protections generally apply to traffic inside Tor Browser—not every app on your device.

Use a proxy

A proxy passes traffic from a configured browser or app through an intermediary. It may change the IP that destination sites see, but protection depends on how it’s configured. Not all proxies encrypt traffic or protect other apps.

Switch networks

Connecting through a mobile network or another Wi-Fi network usually changes your public IP. It doesn’t make you anonymous, and the network operator can still observe connection information. Use HTTPS, especially on networks you don’t trust.

Check your connection

Note the IP shown on IPWave before and after connecting. If it changes to the expected address, the site is seeing a different public IP. You can also try the WebRTC test, but no single test guarantees complete protection.

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