How to Hide Your IP Address: 4 Methods Compared

Your internet provider, mobile carrier, workplace, or public network gives every connection a public IP address. Websites see that address whenever you load a page, and infer an approximate location of your provider and device from it.

To hide an IP address, you route your traffic somewhere else first, so websites see a different one instead. VPNs, proxies, Tor, and mobile data all do this in their own way, and they differ in encryption, coverage, speed, and control.

Incognito mode does not hide your IP address, because it only changes what your browser saves locally. A different address requires your traffic to travel through another server or network.

Four Ways to Hide Your IP Address

For many everyday uses, a VPN provides a practical balance because it hides your IP, encrypts your traffic, can cover the whole device, allows you to select from available server locations, and generally remains fast enough for regular browsing.

1. A VPN Protects the Entire Device

Virtual private networks build an encrypted tunnel between your device and a remote VPN server. Websites then see that server's IP address rather than the one your internet provider gave you.

Full-device coverage means the tunnel carries traffic from across your device, not just one browser window. When you pick a different server, both the visible IP address and the region tied to it change. A nearby server usually keeps latency low, while a server abroad gives an IP tied to that country.

Traffic between your device and the VPN server stays encrypted, which matters most on hotel, airport, cafe, and other shared networks. Essentially, a VPN covers both sides of IP privacy, since it swaps the visible address and protects traffic en route to the IP replacement server.

Worth noting that a new IP address does not make you completely anonymous online. Sites can still recognize you through logins, cookies, browser fingerprints, and other details outside the network address.

2. A Proxy Changes the IP for Selected Traffic

Proxies pass chosen traffic through another server, so websites receive the proxy's address instead of yours. However, most proxy services cover only one browser, one application, or a connection you set up by hand.

The proxy’s narrower scope can suffice when only one activity needs a different visible address. Everything outside the proxy keeps using your usual connection and still carries your original IP.

Whether traffic is encrypted depends on the proxy type, so a proxy doesn’t always guarantee protected traffic. HTTPS still protects what you send to compatible sites, but the proxy tunnel may be less secure than a VPN's.

Proxies suit selective routing, but they are less useful when several apps on your device need encrypted connections.

3. Tor Uses Multiple Relays

Browser traffic in Tor travels through several relays run by different operators before it reaches the destination site. Websites see the address of the last relay instead of your own.

The split route makes it harder for any single point in the network to learn both where your traffic started and where it is going. Tor Browser also reduces fingerprinting and other ways of linking your sessions.

Your data stays encrypted inside the Tor network, though the last step to the website depends on that site's own protocol. For this reason, it still pays to use HTTPS when you browse through Tor.

Since Tor prioritizes route separation, your traffic passes through several relays before it reaches your target page. Those additional hops increase latency, causing speeds lower than what you’re accustomed to.

Tor suits privacy-focused browsing, but you’ll need faster connections for streaming, video calls, big downloads, and general device traffic.

4. Mobile Data Replaces the Current Network IP

When you move from Wi-Fi to 4G or 5G, your traffic shifts onto your mobile carrier's network. Websites then see an address linked to that carrier rather than your home, office, or public Wi-Fi connection.

Carriers often rotate their public addresses or place many customers behind shared network equipment. That switch is therefore a quick way to stop showing the IP tied to another connection.

Traffic still passes through your carrier, and you cannot usually choose the replacement address or its region. Mobile data also adds no encrypted tunnel beyond whatever protection websites and apps already use.

If additional protection is needed, a VPN can also be used over a mobile data connection.

Which Method Works Best?

Each method has a different job, so your choice depends on how much traffic needs cover, whether you need encryption, and how much speed and location control matter.

• VPN: Use this for daily browsing when your whole device needs encryption and a new visible IP.
• Proxy: Handy when only one browser or one application needs a different visible address.
• Tor: Worth choosing when multi-relay privacy matters more to you than raw connection speed.
• Mobile network: Quick way to move away from the IP another connection is assigned to you.

VPNs cover a wide range of everyday uses, since they can protect the whole connection without separate tools for each app.

How Double VPN and Multi-Hop Routing Work

Most VPNs send traffic through a single VPN server before it reaches the internet. Double VPN, sometimes referred to as multi-hop routing, adds another VPN server to the route. Instead of traveling from the device to one VPN server and then to the destination, traffic passes through two VPN servers before reaching the public internet.

This approach creates additional separation between the user's original connection and the public-facing exit server. It shares the general idea of routing traffic through multiple points with systems such as Tor, although the technologies work differently. Tor uses a distributed relay network, while Double VPN connections typically route traffic through servers operated or selected by a VPN provider.

The additional hop can increase latency because traffic has farther to travel and must be processed by another server. Actual performance depends on factors such as server locations, network capacity, congestion, and the VPN protocol being used.

Different VPN providers implement multi-hop connections in different ways. For example, Swiss-built ApexGuard uses double VPN routing that sends traffic through two VPN servers before it reaches the public internet. Other implementations may use different entry and exit configurations or allow users to select specific server combinations.

Double VPN does not make a user completely anonymous, but it can add another layer of separation between the original network connection and the IP address ultimately presented to websites.

Check That Your IP Has Changed

To verify whether your IP has changed, do a quick IP lookup and check which address websites currently receive. Check your public IP before you connect, then run the same lookup again after you turn on the VPN, proxy, Tor, or mobile network.

Results from the second check should show an address on the new connection path instead of your internet provider. With a VPN, the region on screen should generally correspond to the server location you selected.

With a proxy, the lookup shows the proxy server's IP, and with Tor, it shows an address tied to your current exit relay. You can perform an IP lookup on IPLocation.net before and after connecting to compare the results.

A new lookup reflects the network-based location websites see, although GPS permissions, account details, cookies, browser fingerprints, and device settings can still hint at your location or identity.