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Svenska What is my IP address?
Every website you open sees your IP address – without asking, and without a cookie.
Steganos®What is my IP
Using this data, your network provider and others can track your path through the Internet and monitor your activities.
Protect your privacy with a real VPN!
Your connection is protected by Steganos VPN Online Shield ✓
Steganos®VPN Online Shield
Seeing your IP address is the first step. Not having to show it any more is the second.
- ✓Encrypts your entire connection
- ✓Hides your real IP address
- ✓256-bit AES encryption
- ✓Servers in many countries, switch with one click
- ✓7 days unrestricted, no subscription
How does a VPN work?
Without Steganos VPN Online Shield
Your data can be intercepted anytime, on a public Wi-Fi or on its way to a server.
With Steganos VPN Online Shield
Your privacy is protected, your connection is encrypted, no matter from where you access the Internet.
A VPN is a virtual private network in which your data is securely transferred. If you use VPN software, you will not connect directly to the Internet as usual.
First, you connect to the VPN provider in encrypted form, which in turn is forwarding you to the Internet. Your data will be anonymized:
Because your connection request is made via a server of the VPN provider (node), you will be assigned a new IP address. This protects your real IP address, which serves as a distinctive feature of your device – so your Internet request cannot be traced back. The virtual private network makes your computer invisible.
What your IP address reveals
What many people assume – and what actually applies
| Common misconception | What actually applies | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | ✗ My IP address reveals my home address | ✓ It reveals your provider and your region. Who is behind it is known only to your provider – and they disclose it on a court order |
| Recognition | ✗ My address changes regularly, so I cannot be identified | ✓ Address plus browser details form a pattern that remains recognisable even after the change |
| Encryption | ✗ With HTTPS nobody can see where I am | ✓ HTTPS protects the content. Sender and destination stay visible to everyone along the way |
| Private mode | ✗ In a private window I am invisible | ✓ That mode only clears the history on your device. Nothing changes on the outside, the address stays the same |
| Public Wi-Fi | ✗ On café Wi-Fi I look like everybody else | ✓ To the outside yes – but inside the same network your traffic can be read |
| Hiding it | ✗ You need technical expertise for that | Switch the VPN on, done |
FREEOur top downloads
Full power at no cost: use our software free of charge and enjoy every premium feature*
VPN Online Shield
The best VPN solution from Germany. Absolute security and privacy.
Password Manager
Create, store and manage strong passwords. Secure cloud-based access while on the move.
Data Safe
Encrypt sensitive data securely. Protect yourself and your data at the touch of a button.
Privacy Suite
Digital vault & password management. Create and manage secure passwords.
OkayFreedom VPN
Browse free and securely – a VPN from a German provider, with no user account at all.
LockNote 2
Encrypt important data against unwanted access with our open-source solution.
* Steganos VPN Online Shield can be used without restriction and without a subscription for 7 days. Steganos Privacy Suite, Steganos Password Manager and Steganos Data Safe can be used without restriction and without a subscription for 30 days. Steganos LockNote 2 and OkayFreedom VPN are free to use permanently.
Frequently asked questions
What is an IP address, exactly?
The house number of your connection on the Internet. For a website to send you a page, it has to know where to – and that is precisely what the address is for. Without it no connection works. So it is nothing suspicious, but nothing private either: every server along the way sees it.
How accurate is the location on the map?
Inaccurate, and deliberately so. The database assigns your address an area, not a point – the circle on the map shows that area. On fixed-line connections it often hits the right city, on mobile networks it can be dozens of kilometres off, and with some providers it only shows the company headquarters. A home address cannot be derived from it.
Why does my address change sometimes?
Many providers assign it temporarily rather than permanently. After you reconnect you are given a different one. That does not make you anonymous: your provider keeps a record of which address belonged to which line and when.
What is the difference between IPv4 and IPv6?
IPv4 is the older, shorter notation with four blocks of numbers. Because those addresses have become scarce, there is IPv6 with considerably more digits. Many connections have both today; if IPv6 above says „not available“, your connection is currently using IPv4 only. In everyday use it makes no difference to you – you are visible with either one.
How do I hide my IP address?
With a VPN. Your device sets up an encrypted connection to a server, and the website only sees that server’s address. To try it out, our Free Online Web Proxy in the browser is enough; for all of your traffic – including outside the browser – you need a VPN such as Steganos VPN Online Shield.
What happens to my address?
It is needed to look up the location and the network operator. So that the same query does not run again on every visit, the result of the location lookup is cached. No user account, no profile and no link to your person is created in the process. What generally accrues while operating the website is set out in our privacy policy.