Can People Find My Home Address Through My IP Address?
Many people on the internet ask this question, so today; I am going to answer it for once and for all.
So… Can people find out who you are through your IP Address? The simple answer is yes. But first, let’s understand what an IP Address is, the different types of IP Addresses, and then how people can find out your home address through your IP.
What Is An IP Address?
Under IPv4, an IP Address is a bunch of numbers that is in the format of XXX.XXX.XXX.XXX. For example: 124.136.56.164. However, since the world is running short of IP Addresses (we’ll probably run out by the end of 2011), IPv6 has been created in which IP Addresses are displayed as group of four hexadecimal digits separated by colons. For example: 2001:db8:1f70::999:de8:7648:6e8. For more information about IPv6, visit Wikipedia.
What are IP Addresses Used For?
IP Addresses are used to connect computers to each other. For example, your ISP will assign you either a static or dynamic IP Address which you will use to connect your computer or home network to the internet. If your home network has more than one computer in it, your ISP will not assign each of your computers an IP Address. Your router will assign each computer in your network a LAN IP. This IP Address is a little different as it will usually start with a 192.168.x.x or 10.x.x.x.
Static IP? Dynamic IP? What’s the Difference?
Basically a Static IP Address never changes, whereas a Dynamic IP Address does change. Businesses usually require a static IP Address so they can host servers such as web servers, so when you visit a domain name, the DNS server (Domain Name Server) finds out what the IP Address is and directs you to that server. Imagine if you had a dynamic IP Address that always changes, you wouldn’t be able to locate that server or website.
Most residential customers will be assigned dynamic IP Addresses by their ISP. The reason being is that they don’t need to run servers and it’s easier to manage.
What’s better – Dynamic or Static?
It’s really depends on what you require as each have their pro’s and con’s. For example, if you want to host a web server, a static IP Address will be better suited, but a dynamic IP will be better if you constantly get blocked by a firewall as you can reset your modem and get a new IP Address and re-access the site. But you can’t do that with a static IP Address as your IP Address remains the same.
So can people find out my home address through my IP Address?
If someone wants to find out where you live, first, they will need to know your IP Address and the date and time when you accessed something (it’s easy to get, read below). Every time you visit a website, the website would probably record your IP Address. That being said, to identify you from the other 10000 visitors can be a bit tricky, so if you log into an account, they will most probably have your username or address recorded so they can associate your account details to your IP Address.
But by someone just having your IP Address, it is possible to track down who you are from your IP Address, but for privacy issues, not many people can do it. If someone wants to find your address, they will need a court order or a warrant to access the information from your ISP. With this, your the ISP can lookup who used what particularly ISP at a given time and date. They will then look up your billing and account details to find out what address you have.
Also, each ISP and countries are assigned with a particular IP range, thus you can use services like Trasir to find out who your ISP is and what country and region you are from.
So that is how people can find your address from your IP Address. Please keep in mind, to find legally get your personal details from your IP Address, they will need to go through some form of court order to receive permission to get these details.
Please be aware, that there maybe people who work with these agencies (ISP, Police etc) that may be able to attain these details through inside information.
So Where Do I Find My IP Address? What is my IP?
It is very easy to find your IP Address, and if I go to a services like CanYouSeeMe.org it will get my IP Address for me and display it. When you visit it on another computer on another network, it will show you your IP Address you are using to connect to the internet. Other services like You Get Signal will show a geophysical map of your location in which your IP Address is assigned, which can be used as an extremely useful tool to track IP Addresses and to trace IP locations.
IP Addresses Can Be Disguised
It is important to note, that IP addresses can be spoofed. Someone in one country, can mask their IP address to show that they are in another country. When someone does this, it makes it much more difficult to track where that person is actually located. I suggest you read “How To Use a Fake IP Address & Mask Yourself Online” and “6 Tips On How To Unblock A Web Page From Behind A Firewall“.
Hi, Jack. I was on omegel talking to this person (she said she was a girl) and something about the whole conversation gave me an irie feeling. I did tell her the state i lived in for some stupid reason. But could this person have my ip address and find out the exact location where I live? I’m a pretty paranoid person and I have done my research where more than half the answers say “No, someone cannot find where you live through omegle.” but I would like to see what you say. Thanks so much.
Hi Alice,
I have never used Omegel, so I cannot confirm if your IP address is revealed, but the statement “No, someone cannot find where you live” holds pretty true.
I wouldn’t stress so much over it.
If you have other questions about this, just ask.
I don’t know if I am supposed to comment anymore, but, can someone legally find my general area? I’m sorry if this seems excessive, but I like my privacy.
General area, yes – more so than your exact address.
I play online games. And i skype with a few. They say they would get my ip and trace longitude and latitude and find my home address and stuff. Is it possible…??
It’s very unlikely that they will be able to get your exact address. They will mostly be bluffing.
Im on my ipod on skype talking to gamers. They say they can get my ip and calculate the longitude and latitude and find my home address. Is tht possible? Even if im using my ipod???
Please see my answer above.
Can someone fiind where I live by using my chatango account?
I’m not sure about Chatango – I have never used it.
:Djan:o:p:(:(:):):):):):):):):D:D:D:D
Hello,
I recently used an email spoofer to send messages on Facebook. It allowed me to change the sender/receiver to anyone on my friends list as long as I had their email address. Most thought it was funny; but one person is saying they were hacked, cyber harassed and are taking it the police. Would something like that be easy to trace back to me with my IP or any other method? They had a friend post on their page saying he worked in Cyber Crimes and could help them… I’m thinking, really? For a prank Facebook email?
Thanks!
Please read the reply on the other comment you have made. Thank you.
Hello, I’m not sure if you’re still answering questions on this still, but if you are I’d like to get a more solid answer on something.
If I’ve given someone my email address (and only my email address), what information could they possibly get from it?
Could they find out my IP address from only that much information?
Could they find out where I lived from something as simple as that?
And one other thing I was wondering…from this comment, could someone find my location or anything else?
Thanks for all the information and answering everyone’s questions. Much appreciated.
Hi Claire,
Providing your email out is pretty safe – you will mostly get spam mail from it. BUT, if you use that email address for other services, they could potential search for the email address on Facebook, Google, which will link to your FB provide to find more information about you.
Leaving this comment, you are safe from people finding out your location.
Hi Jack !
This post has cleared my doubts about ip address. I have one query, I have just started working from home as a seo and it seems that my comments are not approving ( not a single one). From your post its clear that my ISP using dynamic IP address, so if I change my ip address, would my problem get resolved?
Are these comments you make on your site, or others? Sometimes a moderator of the site has to approve the comments first.
There are many methods and tutorials that teach you how to find an ip address,I use this tool[url=”http://ipgp.net/”] http://www.ipgp.net/%5B/url%5D to display information about any ip address, just enter any IP address into the box and you will get the country, city, region, ISP, street address and the satellite location map for every query.
Is this website legal? To solicit ip addresses for money? Do these websites work?
If you are a fool to pay, you get what your given. Anyway, this information can be obtained free through other IP lookup services.
Let’s look in detail to what you are buying:
View the City and State of an Ip Address – only city, not exact location
View the Internet Service Provider of an IP address – a simple whois.domaintools.com will reveal who the ISP is.
View the Street Address of an Ip Address – this will be the address of the ISP that leases/owns the IP address
View the map with exact location of an IP Address – a map of the above address
Unlimited queries – whoop de do
Hello, I’m trying to find out if there’s a way to find out the IP address location of someone trying to access my gmail account illegally.
Use a tool such as whois.domaintools.com
Hello, I would like to see if I’m able to track someones IP address to a location, someone has been trying to access my gmail account for a few days now relentlessly. Thanks
Change your Gmail password! That’s the first thing you must do.
Hi I have a dilemma and wandered if you could help my brother inlaw is sending me messages through a fake facebook profile it has come to light with my husband as I have told him about the messages only his brother is completely denying it and trying to make me out to be a lier and its not him but I know its him as when the message first started I got really worried as they were stalking sexual comments I was being sent so I told my husband I was going to the police his brother was told that evening as his brother and girlfriend came over for drinks my husband and I said about it. later that evening his brother got me when I was on my own and apologised and told me it was him grovelling practically so I bit my tongue and didn’t do anything about it that was 4 years ago 2 weeks ago he did it again and that’s when I decided enough was enough and told my husband it was his brother so basically my husband is in limbo I need to get proof it’s him and show him I’m being honest is there a way I can trace his fake profile to an IP address so I can link it to him and prove my innocents in this matter ? Thank you and sorry for the long winded message.
Next time you speak with him to confess, get a voice recorder.
Or, tell him “do you remember that time we (you, brother, and husband) did something” – something that only he will know, would help prove that it is him.
Hi,
I have found some IP that have been hacking into my email but they point to an apple IP in california. what does this mean and can I determine where the actual user is and how? Does this mean the person is on apples cellular network (AT&T)?
Change your password. It could be other linked Apple servers as well that need email access to work.
Twiends.com banned me and my friend for using the same computer. They would not believe we were two individuals.
They would have detected the same IP address and beleived that you are using a Fake account. If the service allows you to add a phone number to your account, add it to help prove it’s two unique accounts
Hi,
Can the System Administrator or the System IT manager, see the personal information using the IP address? I will use Skype chat in the office premises, is it possible in anyway to the system IT manager to track or monitor my chat conversation or any personal information in from my system based on the Office IP address.
Hello Queme,
With Skype, I believe the information is encrypted, so no. However, the System Administrator may have another services installed on your workstation to monitor your computer activities, such as how long you spend using Skype, what web sites you are visiting, and what applications you use.
If you send personal emails through your works email address, these will likely be archived with the ability to be retrieved if required.
Hope this answers your question.
if someone searches my ip address can they find different country? if not, can we change it?
Hello Missy, please see me response to Skotty below. By someone visiting your IP address, they will connect to your network. Your modem/router will block most traffic (such as 80) by default to protect your network. But if you open these ports up, people will able to access your computer as they do with any web server in a data centre.
To change IP addresses, you need to contact your ISP (who you pay to access the internet)
what actually creates an Ip address ?? is it your location ? your computer ? or your dongle ? for example .if i got a new computer yet sat in the same house in the same spot , with a brand new dongle would my Ip address be the same as before ? how do i change my I p address ? change my dongle ? computer ? or my location ? thanks
Hi Skotty,
Your IP address is assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP). Your ISP have purchased a block of IP Addresses from Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN). Most ISP’s provide dynamic IP addresses, which means, everytime you go on the internet, it will usually be different.
So to change your IP address, you will need to ask your ISP to reassign a new IP address, change ISP’s, or tunnel your internet through another network by using a VPN or Proxy.
Hope this answers your question.
Jack
About 2 years ago I posted anti-government messages on a facebook page (Asian country & page). Of course I used a fake name & not my real facebook account. Now, I did this from abroad & not in my country. What information do you think they could have found out aabout me if they wanted to? Please let me know as I’m about to travel to my country very soon.
Hi Jordan,
It is very unlikely that they will have information on you, especially you did it at a public location.
by sagar-
dear sir i got an email that had some link in its attachment i clicked on yhe link .. and i saw other window opened in my browser that had written something like MAIL to: kate..// and a mail was delivered to sender who sent me this mail…. am i in trouble… or was it a harmless spam
Hi Sagar,
It’s best to do a scan on your computer for viruses. Make sure you look at the real source of the link (usually at the bottom of your screen or on mouse hover) as the URL text can be different to the URL you visit when you click on it. Always be careful!
Hello, i heard that every day you use your computer the ip address changes, is this true?
Hi,
Yes, it’s definitely possible, but it depends on a number of factors, such as your router/network settings, and ISP.
IP addresses have a “lease time” This can be from a matter of hours to weeks. So when the lease is up, your device will attempt to gain a new IP address from your local DHCP server (it might also give you the same one too). The same goes for your ISP. Usually, when you restart your modem, you will get a new IP address.
To check if your IP address changes, visit canyouseeme.org and note down the number and see if it changes each day.
Hope this answers your question.
hello. um can someone track my ip address from my anon questions on askfm? and from the ip address can that person know my location?
It’s unlikely AskFM will provide the IP addresses of users to other users, so no.
Hi,
As you mentioned previously in your article that no one can trace your location other than people who work in agencies. 1.So how can maps.google.com trace my exact location?
2.can paypal trace my current location?
Hello John,
Yes, in most cases, only agencies can track your location.
So how does Google Maps track your location? They don’t, you are giving them access to it. When Google drives around your streets to take images for Street View, they are also recording Wireless Routers MAC addresses. So if you are accessing Google Maps using WiFi, they will take the Mac Address of nearby WiFi Networks, find them in Google’s Database to get the Geographical Location on where that MAC address was recorded. There are other factors involved as well, so I suggest you read through http://google-latlong.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/blue-circle-comes-to-your-desktop.html and some of the links within the article.
Location, maybe not, unless you use PayPal on a mobile device. They will probably be able to find the area you are in, but not the location. But PayPal will already know your address as you have to provide it to them.
Great article and blog. I’m trying to prove that my ex hacked into my Gmail. I suspect it because she mentioned (yelled) a few things that I think she only could have known by snooping in there (no I wasn’t cheating.) I realized my password might have been guessable and changed it with 2-step authentication now. My attorney has already subpoenaed Google for the log-in IP’s since it goes back more than the most recent list. Assuming that list comes back with log-ins that aren’t my IP, what is the easiest thing to do next? I’ve got emails from her, so was thinking maybe I can find her IP that way? Or will that just show her ISP? Seems like trying to subpoena the ISP is a long road. Thoughts?
To prove that it was ex, you would need to get the IP address and Timestamps of the IP addresses she was using (if the ISP uses Dynamic IP address). Then if the IP and Timestamps match from Google to the IP address, you can prove it was your ex. Then again, how do you know she wasn’t using a public computer at the time, or accessing your email through a proxy?
Otherwise, you might want to try something like http://www.jackcola-network.com/iplog
Hi there! I’ve a quick question. Will a blogger (for instance) be able to track the IP address of who is visiting their website? Will they know by the IP address alone the location/country (which I’m guessing is a yes based on the answered above =) )
Yes they will, if they record that information. For example, based on your comment and recorded IP address, you are based in Singapore. Have a look at this post to see a list of things webmasters can collect when you visit their site: http://www.jackcola.org/2013/06/when-i-visit-a-website-what-information-does-my-browser-automatically-give/
Thanks Jack! do Google Analytics/StatCounter provide these services like getting the I.P address and information obtained from it?
Google Analytics doesn’t provide IP addresses, but if you are using Cpanel and your host has enabled AWStats, you can get a list of IP addresses that hit your site. You can get additional information from http://clicky.com/, but some of the features you need to pay for. Have a look at the demo if you want.
I’ll do that. Thanks again, Jack.