If you live in the 21st century, you should definitely think about hiding your IP address. It’s called an “address” because it shows the location of a device connected to the internet, but it can also indicate a physical location in the real world. It means it’s likewise a way to identify and track you online. In some cases, specialists classify IPs as personally identifiable information (PII) or information associated with a particular individual. That’s why you should take better care of your IP.
I’m sure you don’t give your street address to just anyone, putting your safety at risk. The same happens with your digital personal data. Living in a world where the boundaries between physical and digital are rapidly vanishing, you need to take the proper steps to improve your internet privacy and anonymity levels.
In this article, you’ll see three easy and effective ways to hide your IP address compared, so you can choose the most suitable one to protect your online identity.
What is an IP address?
An IP address is a numerical tag digitally stick to each device connected to a computer network through the internet protocol (IP). This IP address acts as an identifier, or localizer, that allows other devices on the same network to find and communicate with each other using a standard “language,” actually, a shared set of rules know as communication protocol.
As the name says, the internet protocol is used by machines communicating through the world wide web. IP addresses can be public or private, depending on how they are assigned. Usually, when we talk about hiding an IP address, we refer to a public IP.
Why should I hide my IP?
There are many reasons why you might want to keep your IP address concealed. Typically, those are related to privacy and security concerns; but may also have to do with freedom of access.
Privacy and security motivations
Cyberspace is a much less regulated environment than the real world. So, it becomes increasingly important to protect your digital life. But, despite the necessity, it’s challenging to keep your personally identifiable information (PII) and digital identity safe from all online threats.
Even with your IP being just one small harmless piece of data, as it may seem at first sight, it has a massive relevance. Individuals with the proper knowledge and skills can use an IP address as a key to a plethora of information about someone.
In this context, hiding your IP address can be a necessary measure to:
- Mask your geographical location (country, city, neighborhood, and zip code);
- Protect your devices from hacking;
- Avoid being impersonated by cybercriminals;
- Prevent being target by scammers;
- Avoid web tracking;
- Stay anonymous while torrenting (P2P);
- Prevent DDoS attacks on gaming platforms.
- Freedom of access purposes
- In some cases, hiding your IP address can prevent your internet activity from being blocked or restricted. Unfortunately, authoritarian organizations constantly engage in practices to forbid access to websites, social networks, and content.
- They might do this for different reasons, from compliance and licensing agreements to information control and censorship. Some organizations that might want to control and restrict your online activity are:
- Video and audio streaming platforms allow access to content based on the user’s geographical region;
- Internet service providers (ISPs) slow down your connection speeds and bandwidth for technical and expense reasons;
- Corporations, universities, and schools actively control their network usage both in terms of data volume and allowed practices;
- Authoritarian governments manage access to information and restrict free speech.
- How to hide your IP address from others?
- First, we need to make clear the difference between hiding your IP address and changing it. Although these expressions are used interchangeably, they point to different practices.
- Hiding your IP means masking your actual IP behind another one. In this case, online traffic coming from your device will be associated with that apparent IP; instead of yours, securely kept hidden. The most effective way to do this is by using a VPN service.
- Use a good, trustworthy VPN service
- VPNs are the easiest and most reliable way to hide your IP address. A VPN service will not only mask your IP, keeping it away from prying eyes but also encrypt your traffic data. That means you’ll have an extra defense layer. But not all VPNs are built equal.
- Have you noticed the words “good” and “trustworthy” in the title above? They are there for an important reason. There are dozens, even hundreds, of VPN providers out there. But sadly, many of them are actually data miners and advertising companies.
- Unfortunately, that’s the case with most free VPNs. They usually deliver poor performance and your data on a tray. And it could be even worse as with TurboVPN’s practices.
- Using a quality VPN will benefit you in many ways. Beyond IP masking, it enhances your privacy, security, and freedom online on several fronts. For instance, it protects your devices on public Wi-fi networks, applies cryptography upon your traffic data, and unblocks geo-restricted content, among other advantages.