How To Hide Your IP Address (Protect From Hackers in 2023)?
Today, our everyday lives are surrounded by and are circled around technology and especially the internet without which life today is unimaginable. As many benefits as the internet brings, it has also become a hub for mischievous acts.
These mischievous acts are almost always carried out using the IP address. An IP address is sensitive information that your connection carries using which a hacker online could trace your actual identity.
Using the IP address a hacker could hack your device, get hold of your personal and confidential data, misuse your identity and a lot more. So, it becomes very important to hide your IP address whenever you are active on the web.
The best way to keep your IP address from landing in the wrong hands is to make use of a VPN. A VPN is capable of hiding your IP address so that the truth of the connection cannot be traced.
It is important that you make use of a good VPN in order to make sure that the process is carried out exactly as explained. We strongly recommend ExpressVPN.
Quick Guide: How to hide your IP address?
- Subscribe to a VPN. We recommend ExpressVPN to be the best at its work.
- Download the VPN app on your device.
- Connect to a suitable VPN server in an appropriate location on your VPN app.
- Once connected to a VPN server of a country, your actual IP address will be hidden and you will receive an IP address of the place where you are connected to a server.
What is an IP address?
IP in IP address means Internet Protocol. It is the system which allows any data or information to be passed on the internet. Each device with an internet connection has a unique IP address according to its location because IP addresses are allocated to devices based on their physical location.
The device, when it has an internet connection, with the help of its IP address identifies from where data is to be sent and where it is to be received. The sending and receiving activity of a device is usually tracked.
How to hide your IP address?
IP address is a very sensitive information that you must keep safeguarded at all times. This information can be used by hackers online or any third party or individual with malicious intentions. So you must keep it safe whenever you are active on the web.
The best, safest, most effective way of hiding your IP address is to make use of a VPN. A VPN keeps your actual IP address concealed and assigns you a fake IP address in a distant location where you connect to one of its servers.
This way, your actual IP address is never open to the eyes of anybody online and is kept hidden at all times.
In what ways can hiding your IP address help?
To get past the geographical restrictions imposed on any service online
Geographically restricted services do not let you access the service from the regions where they are restricted by checking the IP address of the device you are using to know your physical location.
Hiding the IP address of your device will not let the service find out that you are located in a region where the service is geographically restricted and thus you will not be denied access to the service and will be able to enjoy using it from wherever you are located.
To maintain online anonymity
IP addresses are given to all devices based on the place where they are, because they are unique addresses allocated to all smart devices used to access the internet according to the device’s physical location.
Hiding the IP address of the device helps in maintaining online anonymity because any service you use on the internet will not be able to know your actual physical location and any other possible information which can be known through the IP address. In this manner, your online anonymity will be maintained.
To have private searches
Most of the search engines on the internet track all your online activity including any online link you open, websites you use, the time you spend on any particular website or webpage, etc.
Hiding the IP address of your device ensures that search engines cannot track your online activities.
Letting your online activities be tracked by any third party can lead to unwanted consequences and thus it’s important for you to hide the IP address of your device. It also does not let your internet provider keep a track of your activities which gives you privacy.
Therefore, you can make sure that your online activity is not tracked by any search engine, your ISP or by any third party.
Complete incognito mode
Even using the incognito mode does not completely ensure that your online activity is secured and kept private, therefore hiding your device’s IP address is very important.
Doing so will make sure you get to use a complete incognito mode and there is no kind of risk of your data being accessed by any website or any hackers.
Detailed steps to hide your IP address with a VPN
In order to make sure that your actual identity not traceable by hackers when you are active on the web, you must follow the steps given below to use a VPN to hide your actual IP address:
Step 1: First, since you need a VPN, start off by signing up for a strong and reliable VPN service. We strongly recommend that you use ExpressVPN(get 49% discount + 3 months free).
Step 2: Next you are required to download the app of your selected VPN and install it on your device.
Step 3: All top-notch VPNs require a subscription. So, select a VPN plan you find most suitable and proceed by paying.
Step 4: After you have successfully made the payment and registered on your chosen VPN, sign in to the VPN app by inputting the same credentials using which you have registered for your VPN.
Step 5: On your VPN app, connect to a VPN server in an appropriate location in a country like the US.
Step 6: Once you are connected to a VPN server in a distant location, your actual IP address would be concealed so that nobody can use it to trace back to you. Instead, you will be assigned a fake IP address, that if the place where you have connected to a VPN server.
This way, any potential hacker or another person with malicious intentions would not be able to use your IP address for their mischievous acts.
How to choose a VPN to hide your IP address?
As you have to use a VPN for hiding your IP address to make sure that it cannot be seen by anybody online, you must also know that it is very important to make a wise choice while selecting the VPN to be used.
This is important because not all VPNs are capable of maintaining the anonymous and secrecy at all times under all circumstances.
The precise list of factors given below must be given utmost consideration while choose a VPN:
- No log policy
- Kill Switch technology
- End-to-end encryption
- Speed
- Security
- Server locations
- Accessibility
- Reliable encryption
- Ease of use
- Unblocking efficacy
- Versatility
- Anonymity
- Technical support
- Compatibility
- Customer support
- Multi-logins
Frequently Asked Questions
What is meant by IP address?
IP stands for Internet Protocol. The IP address of a device is its unique address which has been assigned to it according to its location. This address helps in sending and receiving data.
How to hide my device’s IP address?
The best way to hide your device’s IP address is to use a VPN on your device. A VPN masks up the original IP address of your device and in return also provides it with a fake IP address of whichever place you want.
Which VPN should I use to hide the IP address of my device?
There are a lot of VPN options available and thus it becomes tough to make a good choice. Our top recommendation is ExpressVPN because it has all the features any reliable VPN should have.
Can hiding the device’s IP address bypass governmental ban on any service?
Yes, when your IP address is hidden the service banned by the government will not know that you are accessing it from a region where it is banned. And as the VPN also provides a fake IP address, you can easily get the required IP address to access the service from anywhere.
Conclusion
It has become very important to hide the IP address of your device in order to maintain complete security and privacy while using the internet service.
The best way to do the same is by using a VPN on your device. VPNs are easy and quick to employ on your device and can hide an IP address.
Along with hiding, it also provides your device a new fake IP address in order to ensure you can enjoy using any service without putting your online anonymity at any kind of possible risk.
We recommend you to use ExpressVPN as it has proven to be an ideal VPN.