▷ What is my public and private ip on windows and linux [best explanation]?

An IP address (or internet protocol address) identifies each computer and device on a network. When you sign up for internet service and connect your modem, your internet provider assigns you a public IP address. This address is how you communicate with all other devices that exist on the public internet.

However, you likely have multiple computers and other devices on the network, each of which needs its own IP address. So how does all of that work and how can you find out what all those IP addresses are? That is what we will see next.

Index of contents

Difference between public and private IP address

A public IP address is an IP address that can be accessed through the internet. Like the postal address used to deliver postal mail to your home, a public IP address is the globally unique IP address assigned to a computing device.

A web server, an email server, and any server device directly accessible from the internet are candidates for a public IP address, which is globally unique and can only be assigned to a single device.

The private IP address, on the other hand, is used to assign computers within your private space without letting them be directly exposed to the internet. For example, if you have multiple computers in your home, you may want to use private IP addresses to address each computer in your home.

In this scenario, your router gets the public IP address, and each of the computers, tablets, and smartphones connected to this router (via cable or Wi-Fi) gets a private IP address from it through the DHCP protocol.

IANA (Internet Assigned Numbers Authority) is the organization responsible for registering IP address ranges to organizations and Internet Service Providers (ISPs). To allow organizations to freely assign private IP addresses, the Network Information Center (InterNIC) has reserved certain address blocks for private use.

There are three IP blocks (Class A, Class B, and Class C) reserved for private use. Computers, tablets, and smartphones in your home, and personal computers within an organization, are generally assigned private IP addresses. A network printer that resides in your home is assigned a private IP address so that only your family can print to that local printer.

On the other hand, when a private IP address is assigned to a computer, local devices see this computer through its private IP address. However, devices that reside outside your local network cannot communicate directly through said private IP, but instead use the public IP address of your router to communicate.

To allow direct access to a local device to which a private IP address has been assigned, a NAT (Network Address Translator) must be used.

The role of the router with IP addresses

The answer to all this magic of IP addresses is that your router, be it a standalone device or a combined modem / router unit, essentially serves as a bridge between two networks.

In a typical home network, a router has a public IP address on the internet. Smartphones, computers, game consoles, and other devices that are under the router's signal each have a unique private IP address on the home network.

The router acts as an intermediary between the public network and the home network, forwarding traffic to the local IP addresses that request it. From an external perspective, all devices on the home network communicate with the internet from a single public IP address.

Keep in mind that if your device is directly connected to the internet without any router in the way (something we really don't recommend), your device's IP address will be a public IP address.

Sometimes you may need to know the private IP address of a device or the public IP address of your network, or maybe both.

Suppose you are hosting some kind of server on a computer on your home network and you need people on the internet to connect to it. You may be playing a multiplayer game, you need to access a media server hosted in your home, or you simply want to have remote access to one of your PCs.

In this case, you will need to know the public IP address of your network so that people can type it into the client software. In addition, you must know the private IP address of that computer in order to configure the router so that you direct that type of traffic to the correct computer on the local network.

How to find the private IP

All devices connected to the network (computers, smartphones, tablets, smart home appliances, and more) have a unique IP address that identifies them on the network.

Finding a device's private IP address is not difficult.

In general, you need to check the network settings of your device and look for any information tagged as "TCP / IP", "IP Address" or just "WiFi".

On most computing platforms, such as Linux, MacOS, and Windows, information can generally be found quickly using Command Prompt or Terminal.

Here's how to find that information on every device you may have on your local network.

Windows 10

In Windows 10, you can find this information more quickly than in previous versions of Windows. If you are connected via Wi-Fi, click the Wi-Fi icon in the system tray at the far right of the Taskbar, and then click the "Network Settings" link.

In the window that opened, click on "Advanced Options".

If you have a wired connection, head to Settings> Network and Internet> Ethernet. On the right, you will see a list of your connections. Click on the one you want.

Scroll down a little to the "Properties" section and you will find the information you are looking for.

Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and others

You can find this information in other ways in previous versions of Windows, and they also work in Windows 10.

Go to Control Panel> Network and Sharing (or Network and Internet in Windows 7), and then click the "Change adapter settings" link.

Right-click the connection you want information about, and then select "Status" from the context menu.

In the "Ethernet Status" window click the "Details" button. In the "Network connection details" window you will find the information you want.

You can also find this information in any version of Windows by opening the "Command Prompt" and executing the following command:

ipconfig

macOS X

If you are connected via Wi-Fi, the fastest way to find this information is to hold down the "Option" key and click on the Wi-Fi icon in the menu bar at the top of the screen. The "Option" key allows quick access to status information also in Mac OS X.

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You will see the IP address of your Mac next to "IP Address". Other details here will show you information about your wireless network and the IP address of your router.

Whether your connection is wireless or wired, you can also find this information by opening the Apple menu and heading to System Preferences> Network. Select your network connection and click "Advanced." You will find information about the IP address in the "TCP / IP" tab.

iPhone and iPad

To find this information on an iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch running Apple's iOS, first head to Settings> Wi-Fi. Tap the "i" icon to the right of any Wi-Fi connection. You'll see the IP address and other network details here.

Android

On Android, you can find this information in the "Settings" application. Tap on the “Wi-Fi” option in “Wireless and networks”, select the connection you are using and a window will open. You will find the IP address at the bottom of this page.

As always on Android, these options may be in a slightly different place depending on how the manufacturer customized your device, and may vary from one brand to another.

Chrome OS

On a Chromebook, Chromebox, or any other device running Chrome OS, you can find this information on the Settings screen.

Click on the status area in the lower right corner of the screen, choose the “Connected to” option from the list that appears, and then click on the name of the network you are connected to.

You can also get there by clicking on the menu button in Chrome, selecting "Settings" and then clicking on the name of the Wi-Fi network you are connected to.

You will find information about the IP address in the "Connection" tab.

Linux

In a modern Linux system, this information must be easily accessible from the status or notification area. Find a network icon, click there, and then select "Connection Info." You will see the IP address.

If you only have access to a Terminal, run the following command:

ifconfig

Ignore the "lo" interface, which is a local loopback interface. Instead, look at the interface "eth0", since there you will find the data you are looking for.

How to find your public IP address

The easiest way to find your public IP address is by asking a website, since that website sees your public IP address and can inform you.

A recommended site is ip4.me because it is fast, ad-free and will display your IPv4 address instead of the more complicated IPv6 address, although your network is probably also configured to use it. Just visit the site and it will show you your public IP address.

You can also access your router's administration page to find this information. This page displays your public IP address and other information about your internet connection. Different routers have different administration page layouts and different default local IP addresses. Consult your router's manual or the manufacturer's website if you need more information.

You should also know that, unlike street addresses, IP addresses are not necessarily fixed. Unless you have purchased a static IP address, your ISP (internet provider) may occasionally assign you a new public IP address.

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Also, unless you have configured static IP address assignments for your local devices, the router may occasionally assign new IP addresses to your devices.