How to Find Someone’s IP Address: Expert Tips

Richard Grey - March 21, 2025

Finding someone’s IP address might sound complicated, but this process is actually quite simple once you know what you are looking for. Discovering an IP address can give you insight into where information is being sent from, and you may need to take note of this information as you track where your own information is being sent or work to protect your own online data. Our article gives you details on how to find someone’s IP address so you can understand how to easily gather this information.

What Is an IP Address?

An IP address is assigned to every device that connects to an internet network. The “IP” part of IP address stands for “Internet Protocol,” and your IP address will adhere to a certain set of rules that are set out for governing communications and data across the internet. 

Your IP address allows both location and communication data to be sent and received from your device and to your device, and the IP address is what allows every device to function on the internet. The IP address is also what differentiates between devices like computers or smartphones, routers, and websites.

When you look at your IP address, you will see a set of numbers. These numbers will be separated by periods and broken up into four distinct sets of numbers. Every IP address is calculated and monitored by ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), and IP addresses will range between 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.

It’s also important to note that there are different types of IP addresses, including public, private, or consumer IP addresses. If you need more information about IP addresses, you can check ICANN’s guide that provides additional details.

What Can I Do With an IP Address?

Looking up someone’s IP address can seem challenging and maybe even illicit, but there are plenty of valid reasons why you may need to figure out this information. We give some of the most common reasons for looking up an IP address below.

• You may want to figure out the address or general location where a device is
• You may want to track where your data is being sent to
• You may want to blacklist a device and stop it from accessing your network
• A company may want to use IP address information to target advertising or compile customer data

You should keep in mind that while IP addresses can give you basic location information, they will not give you detailed address information such as streets and street numbers, and if a person is using a VPN, their IP address information may not be accurate to their true location. 

Is It Legal to Look Up an IP Address?

It is legal to look up an IP address as long as you are not using the information you discover to harass that person or otherwise plot illegal behavior. You can use any of our methods to discover an IP address in order to protect your own data or investigate where data is coming from without the fear of legal consequences.

How to Find Someone’s IP Address

You can locate someone’s IP address using a few different methods. We’ve listed the easiest methods for you to follow below so you can find this information with as little stress as possible.

Use an Email

You may not realize it, but using the header of an email is a convenient way to discover the IP address of the sender. This information is located in the metadata of the email, and any email server will have this information. However, you should keep in mind that IP addresses over email can sometimes be hidden or falsified, so make sure you double-check your findings as necessary.

1. Open the email from the sender you are interested in finding the IP address of and locate the dropdown menu. Most email servers indicate this menu with three dots near the top corner or at the bottom of the email view page.
2. Click on the dropdown menu when you find it, and select the option that says ‘view original’ or ‘view raw email.’ The wording of this varies depending on your email provider.
3. Once you have the original or raw email open, scroll through the data until you find something that says ‘received from’ or another similar wording. IP addresses will be listed here, and the most recent IP address code will be from the sender of the email.

Use the Command/Terminal Prompt

If you want to find the IP address of a website, you can use the command prompt function on Windows or the Terminal app on macOS to do so. These are built into your macOS or Windows computer and can help find someone’s IP address.

1. From your computer’s start menu on Windows, type “cmd’ in the search bar. Once the option to open the command prompt function appears, click on this and run it. For macOS, launch the Terminal app from the Applications folder. 
2. After you have it open, type ‘ping’ and then follow it with the URL of the website you are searching. You should copy and paste the URL to ensure the information is correct.
3. Once you run the ‘ping’ command on the website’s URL, you should be able to see the IP address of the website. You can then analyze it further by taking the IP address, copying it, and then pasting it into the command prompt function with ‘tracert’ on Windows or ‘traceroute’ on macOS after it.
4. Run this command, and you will be able to figure out the locations that your data goes through when connecting to the specific website you are researching.

Can I Hide My IP Address?

It is possible to hide your IP address if you are not comfortable with the idea of websites or other individuals potentially finding your IP address and general location. To hide your own IP address, you will need to invest in a VPN. 

A VPN will route your IP address through a remote server, masking the true location that your IP address is coming from. This can be very helpful if you wish to protect your data, or if you feel like taking an extra security step when online. 

VPN tools with limited services may be free online, though the most reputable and effective VPN services come with paid subscriptions. Make sure to perform adequate research on the type of VPN you use to ensure your data is protected.

Can I Track an IP Address to Someone’s House?

While you can see the general location of where someone is using their device when you look up an IP address, you cannot trace this information directly to someone’s house. IP lookup tools and other online websites that promise specific addresses and street-level details with an IP address are generally scams, as this is not possible without using potentially harmful or illegal methods.

Can Someone Trace My IP Address?

In the same way that you can find someone else’s IP address, they can also trace yours. This may not bother you, but if you want to make sure that your IP address and general location information are hidden, you can invest in a VPN to hide your IP address details from prying eyes.

Can I Find Someone’s Name With an IP Address?

It is generally not possible to find someone’s name using an IP address, as an IP address is assigned to a device, router, or website. Names and personal details are not assigned to IP addresses, and if you are trying to contact someone or find their details, you do not want to look up their IP address to do so. 

Instead, you can complete a search with a people lookup tool or a social media search to figure out the contact details and name of someone you may be looking for.

Your IP Address Search

Finding someone’s IP address doesn’t have to be the most complex process, though it can sound complicated before you get started. Fortunately, everyone using a device to access a network has an IP address, and there are a couple of easy ways to track down this information if you need to verify it. Just make sure you keep in mind that IP addresses can be hidden or falsified, so you may need to double-check any of the location information or other details you find after discovering someone’s IP address.