There are plenty of reasons to hide your IP address: protecting your privacy, getting around geographic restrictions, or staying safer on public Wi-Fi. Here are three real, practical methods, along with the pros and cons of each.
1. Use a VPN
A VPN is the most common and simplest method. It routes all of your device's traffic through an encrypted tunnel to a VPN server, so websites only ever see the VPN server's IP address. We cover exactly how that works in this article.
- Pro: Full traffic encryption, simple, works on almost any device.
- Con: You have to trust your VPN provider; free services are often slower and less trustworthy.
2. Use the Tor network
Tor routes your traffic through multiple volunteer-run servers around the world, encrypting each layer separately so no single point in the path sees both where the traffic came from and where it's going.
- Pro: The highest level of anonymity available to the public, free and open-source.
- Con: Considerably slower than a VPN and not suited for streaming or downloads.
3. Use a proxy
A proxy routes your requests through an intermediary server, but unlike a VPN it usually doesn't encrypt all your traffic and is often configured for just one app or browser.
- Pro: Quick to set up, often free.
- Con: Weaker security, typically no encryption at all.
How do I know my IP is actually hidden?
After enabling any of these methods, just refresh the Show-IP.ir homepage. If the IP address and location shown have changed, it's working. The "Security Check" section will also show whether the new IP is being detected as a VPN, proxy, or Tor exit node.
Key takeaways
- A VPN offers a good balance of speed, simplicity, and security.
- Tor offers the highest level of anonymity, but it's slow.
- A proxy is fast but weaker on security.
- Whichever method you use, you can confirm it instantly on Show-IP.ir.