Public IP vs Private IP: Differences and How to Find Them Easily

Have you ever checked your IP online and seen something like 123.198.03.221? Smart! That’s your public IP address, which is assigned by your internet service provider to communicate with the public internet. But what about a private IP address? It stays within your local network, helping devices like your computer and printer talk to each other.

Now, you might wonder: ‘Do I really have both a public and private IP? How can an IP be private and public at the same time? And how do I find them?’ Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered—let’s dive in!

What is a Public IP Address?

Does your house have both a room number and a home address? A public IP address, like the home address number, is a unique identifier assigned by your internet service provider (ISP).

Just like your home address helps strangers find you, your public IP helps the internet send data to and from your device, whether you’re browsing, emailing, or streaming.

Additionally, each device needs a unique public IP. This ensures your online requests—like visiting websites or downloading files—get to the right place without any issues.

Static IP vs Dynamic IP

Public IPs come in two types: static and dynamic.

Static IP: A static IP stays the same all the time, like the IP address for google.com. Normally, websites and services use static IPs so they’re easy for visitors to find.

Quick fact: You might be thinking, “But I never see an IP address when I browse google.com!” That’s because DNS (Domain Name System) translates domain names like “google.com” into IP addresses behind the scenes. This way, you don’t have to remember long numbers—just easy-to-remember names. Pretty cool, right?

Dynamic IP: A dynamic IP changes whenever you reconnect the internet. They are usually used by personal devices, because ISPs manage them by randomly assigning new addresses each time you reconnect.

Can we track public IP addresses?

Yes, because your ISP assigns and manages your public IP, so they can easily track your general location and browsing activities. Additionally, websites you visit can also see your IP address and track your location and actions on this site.

But don’t worry—using a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can mask your real IP address.

What is a Private IP Address?

Now, how about your private IP address? It’s like your room number. Only people in your house can see it. Similarly, your private IP address is used within your home, business, or school network—a private environment—and isn’t visible to the global internet.

💡For example, if you want to print a file from your computer, the computer needs to share it with the printer, and the private IP is the key to making sure they find each other.

Unlike your public IP, your private IP is assigned by your router, giving each device in your home a unique ‘name’ within the network. So they can be reused across different local networks.

Can we track private IP addresses?

Yes, but since private IPs are visible within your “home” network, only devices connected to the same local network can trace you.

How Public and Private IPs Work Together

Let’s start with an example to help you understand how public and private IP addresses work together.

Now, given that you’re at home and want to use your phone to browse X-VPN’s official website.

You have four devices (phone, iPad, PC, and TV) all connected to your home router. Each device has its own private IP address, which allows them to communicate with each other and lets your router identify them within your home network.

OK then, let’s see what happens when you type in “xvpn.io” on your phone:

1. Your phone sends the request to your router.
2. The router receives the message: “Phone wants to visit xvpn.io.”
3. The target website can’t see your phone’s private IP address, so, your router uses Network Address Translation (NAT) to translate your phone’s private IP into your home’s public IP address (assigned by your ISP).
4. The X-VPN website sees your public IP address and sends the webpage data back to your router.
5. Once the data reaches your router, NAT reverses the public IP back into your phone’s private IP and sends the info to the correct device—your Phone, not your PC!

In short, your private IP is used for communication within your home, while your public IP is used for communication with the internet. NAT acts as a middleman, translating between the two to make sure your requests reach the internet, and the responses come back to the right device.

Difference Between Public and Private IP

So, what’s the difference between public and private IP? I believe you may have some answers but let’s recover it again!

Scope

Public IP: The scope of public IP is global, meaning it can be used and accessed anywhere across the internet.

Private IP: The scope of private IP is local, meaning it will be limited to only your home, office or school’s internal network.

Function

Public IP: The main responsibility of public IP is to communicate outside your private network, to connect your private network to the internet.

Private IP: The key function of private IP is to communicate within your private network, helping devices inside the network talk to each other.

Visibility

Public IP: A public IP address will be visible to everyone on the internet, including ISPs, websites and services you interact with.

Private IP: A private IP address will be hidden and only visible to devices within the same private network.

Uniqueness

Public IP: Every public IP should be unique and never reused across the internet.

Private IP: Each private IP just needs to be unique within the local network and can be reused.

Assignment

Public IP: ISPs assign and manage public IPs.

Private IP: Router is responsible for assigning private IPs to each devices connected to.

Cost

Public IP: Having a public IP address always come with additional costs, especially when you need a static IP or multiple public IPs.

Private IP: Private IP addresses are free. They don’t require any extra cost since they are managed by your router.

Range

Public IP Ranges: Due to keep unique across the global internet, public IP addresses encompass the entire global IP address pool, including all IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. That is, they can contain every number.

Private IP Ranges: Unsurprisingly, private IP addresses will be limited to specific ranges reserved by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). They have to obey the following ranges:

• Class A: 10.0.0.0 — 10.255.255.255
• Class B: 172.16.0.0 — 172.31.255.255
• Class C: 192.168.0.0 — 192.168.255.255

Category	Public IP	Private IP
Scope	Global	Local
Function	Communicates outside the private network	Communicates within the local network
Visibility	Visible to everyone on the internet	Hidden, visible only to devices in the same network
Uniqueness	Unique across the entire internet	Unique within the local network, can be reused
Assignment	Assigned by ISPs	Assigned by routers
Cost	May incur costs	Free
Range	Uses all available IPv4 and IPv6 addresses	Restricted to specific ranges reserved by IANA

How to Find Your Private IP Address

Finding your private IP address is easy, and it’s helpful when troubleshooting network issues between devices. Here’s how you can do it depending on your device:

For Windows:

1. Click the Windows icon and type “Command Prompt” in the search bar. Open the Command Prompt.
2. Type ipconfig and press Enter, waiting the answers followed.
3. Look for the line that says IPv4 Address. The number like 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x is your private IP address.

📖 Learn More: IPv4 vs IPv6, what’s the difference?

For macOS:

1. Click the Apple icon in the top-left corner and select System Settings.
2. Go to Network and select your active network connection (Wi-Fi or Ethernet).
3. In the network settings, you’ll see the IP Address listed, which is your private IP (usually something like 192.168.x.x).

For Android:

1. Open Settings and tap on Wi-Fi.
2. Find your connected Wi-Fi network and tap on it.
3. In the details, look for IP Address—this is your private IP address.

For iPhone/iPad:

1. Open the Settings app and tap on Wi-Fi.
2. Tap on the information icon (ℹ️) next to your connected Wi-Fi network.
3. Your private IP address will be listed under IP Address.

For a Router’s Admin Page

If you want to see the private IP addresses of all devices connected to your network:

1. Open a web browser and enter your router’s IP address (usually 192.168.1.1 or 192.168.0.1).
2. Log in with your router credentials.
3. Navigate to the connected devices or network section, where you’ll see the private IP addresses of all devices connected to your router.

📖 Learn More details: How to check IP address on Windows, Mac, Phones and Routers

How to Find Your Public IP Address

The easiest way to check your public IP address is to search “What is my IP address?” in your browser, and your public IP will appear at the top of the results.

Alternatively, you can use our IP checker tool on the X-VPN official website.

📖 Related : How to Change IP address on Any Device in 2024

Conclusion

Every device connected to your router has its own private IP for internal communication, while your network has a public IP for connecting to the internet. Your private IPs are hidden and only used within your local network, but your public IP is visible to the outside world, which could expose your location or browsing activities.

But don’t worry—X-VPN can help protect your public IP without any effort! Click the button below to get protected now, with no fees or registration required!

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