How to Hide Your IP Address
If you want stronger online privacy, you can route traffic through services that mask your public IP. The right choice depends on your needs.
Common options
- VPN: encrypts traffic and replaces your visible IP
- Proxy: forwards traffic through an intermediate server
- Tor: multi-hop privacy routing with potential speed tradeoffs
What to evaluate
- Logging policy and privacy terms
- Speed and connection stability
- Server locations and reliability
- Protocol security and provider reputation
Verify that your IP changed
Check before and after enabling your tool: What is my IP?.
Then verify for secondary leaks with the DNS leak test and WebRTC leak test.
Recommended tools
For privacy-focused setup, see our curated list: Recommended Privacy Tools (contains affiliate links).