How to hide your IP address: 5 methods that actually work

Your public IP address is the return label on every packet your device sends to the internet. Websites you visit, services you sign into, and anything you torrent see it. Hiding it is a simple, durable privacy upgrade.

There's no single "best" way — each method trades convenience, speed, cost, and trust differently. Here's a practical guide to the five real options.

1. Use a VPN (the default recommendation)

A Virtual Private Network routes your traffic through a server run by the VPN provider. Websites see the VPN server's IP, not yours.

How it works

Your device opens an encrypted tunnel to a VPN server. Everything you send goes inside the tunnel; the VPN server unwraps it and forwards it to the real destination. Replies come back the same way.

Pros

Easy to set up — one click, one app.
Works for everything: browsers, apps, games, streaming.
Lets you "appear" to be in another country.
Reasonable speed (usually 10–30% slower than direct).

Cons

You're trusting one company with all your traffic. Choose a provider with a strong no-logs policy and an audit history.
Costs $3–12 per month for a quality service.
Some sites (banks, streaming) block known VPN IPs.

Pick a paid one. Free VPNs are almost always either selling your data, throttling you to upsell, or both. Reputable paid options (in alphabetical order, not endorsements): Mullvad, NordVPN, Proton VPN, IVPN, ExpressVPN.

After connecting, check your IP here to confirm it changed, and run a WebRTC leak test to make sure your real IP isn't escaping the tunnel.

2. Tor — the strongest privacy, the worst speed

Tor (The Onion Router) bounces your traffic through three random volunteer-run relays around the world. No single relay knows both who you are and what you're doing.

Pros

Genuinely strong anonymity. Even Tor itself can't trace you.
Free, open source, no signup.
Built into the Tor Browser — easy to use for browsing.

Cons

Slow. Pages take 5–30 seconds to load.
Many sites block Tor exit IPs (CAPTCHAs everywhere, sometimes outright bans).
Doesn't protect non-browser traffic unless you configure it.
Not ideal for streaming, gaming, or large downloads.

Tor is the right choice if you genuinely need anonymity — for activism, whistleblowing, or research. Overkill for "hiding your IP from a streaming service."

3. Proxy servers — narrower, lighter

A proxy is a single server that forwards your traffic. Like a VPN but usually only for one app (typically the browser) and usually without encryption.

HTTP proxies work for web traffic. SOCKS5 proxies are more flexible. Residential proxies route through real home connections (often used by businesses for ad verification or scraping).

Pros

Light — no system-wide tunnel, just one app.
Some are free.

Cons

No encryption (so your ISP and Wi-Fi sniffers still see traffic).
Free proxies are often run by bad actors logging everything.
Doesn't protect non-browser apps.

Use a proxy only when you understand exactly what you're getting. For most "hide my IP" needs, a VPN is strictly better.

4. Switch to mobile data

A trick most people overlook: disconnect from Wi-Fi and use your phone's cellular data. Your IP changes from your home ISP's address to your carrier's CGNAT pool. Anyone tracking your home IP loses you.

Pros

Free if you have data already.
One tap to enable — no software, no signup.
Works for everything on your phone.
Hard to correlate cellular IPs back to a person without legal process.

Cons

Eats your data plan.
Geographically tied to your carrier (no "appear to be in Sweden").
Not actually anonymous — your carrier still knows it's you.
Doesn't help on a desktop unless you tether.

Useful when you specifically want to avoid being seen at your home IP — checking competitor sites, accessing rate-limited APIs, etc.

5. Public Wi-Fi — only with a VPN on top

Connecting through coffee shop or library Wi-Fi changes your IP to the venue's. But:

The venue logs everything. Many require sign-in with email.
Other patrons can sniff unencrypted traffic.
Sites recognize venue IPs as suspicious and trigger 2FA challenges.

If you're going to use public Wi-Fi to mask your IP, always pair it with a VPN so your traffic is encrypted on the venue's network. The VPN gives you privacy; the venue gives you a different IP.

Which one should you pick?

Goal	Best method
General everyday privacy	VPN
Watching content from another country	VPN
Avoiding tracking by advertisers	VPN + private browser mode
Genuine anonymity	Tor
Quick one-off IP change	Mobile data tether
Browser-only with light overhead	SOCKS5 proxy

The "right" answer for most people, most of the time, is a paid VPN with a no-logs reputation. It's the lowest-friction tool that actually works for everything you do online.

Common mistakes that ruin the protection

WebRTC leaks — your browser can expose your real IP via WebRTC even when a VPN is connected. Test for this after enabling your VPN.
DNS leaks — DNS queries can bypass the tunnel and reveal what you're browsing to your ISP. Check your VPN provider's docs to ensure DNS is tunnelled.
IPv6 leaks — many older VPNs only tunnel IPv4. If your network has IPv6, traffic may bypass the tunnel. Disable IPv6 on the device, or use a VPN that handles it.
Browser fingerprinting — even with your IP hidden, sites can identify you by your unique combination of browser version, screen size, fonts, and plugins. A VPN doesn't fix this; private/incognito mode partially helps.
Logging into your real accounts — if you log into Gmail through your VPN, Google still knows it's you. Hiding your IP doesn't anonymize your account.

TL;DR

Get a paid VPN. Run a WebRTC leak test after connecting. Don't bother with free VPNs or random proxies. Use Tor when you need real anonymity.

That's 95% of practical IP-hiding for normal humans, in three sentences.