- ✓The easiest way to hide or change your IP address is a VPN — connect to a server and you take on its IP.
- ✓Your IP reveals your approximate location and your ISP, and is used to track and geo-block you.
- ✓Three methods exist: VPN (best all-round), proxy (light and unencrypted), Tor (very private but slow).
- ✓Changing your IP hides your location — it doesn’t make you fully anonymous.
- ✓Restarting your router can get you a new IP from your ISP, but it doesn’t hide you.
The quick answer
The simplest way to hide or change your IP address is a VPN: install the app, pick a country, and connect. Your real IP disappears behind the server’s, and your traffic is encrypted along the way. There are two other routes — a proxy or the Tor network — but for almost everyone, a VPN is the fastest and most complete option.
Connect to a VPN server and you borrow its IP address. That’s hiding and changing your IP in a single step.
What your IP address reveals
Your IP address is assigned by your internet provider and travels with every request you make online. From it, websites and services can infer:
- Your approximate location — usually your city or region, sometimes closer.
- Your internet provider — Eir, Virgin Media, Sky, Vodafone and so on.
- A way to track you — advertisers use it to follow you across sites and build a profile.
- What you’re allowed to see — it’s how streaming and shops apply regional blocks and pricing.
Why people change their IP
All perfectly ordinary reasons: to keep their location private from sites and advertisers, to avoid location-based price changes on flights and hotels, to reach content they’re entitled to while travelling, and — a big one in Ireland — to get an Irish IP address for RTÉ, banking and Revenue when abroad.
The three ways to change your IP
Each has its place — here’s the honest comparison:
A VPN
Best all-round- +Encrypts all your traffic, not just a browser
- +Lets you pick a country and get its IP
- +Fast, easy, and works across every app and device
- −Costs a few euro a month (though trials exist)
The simplest, most complete way to hide and change your IP for almost everyone.
A proxy
Light & limited- +Changes your IP for a single app or browser
- +Often free
- +Fine for quick, low-stakes location changes
- −Usually no encryption — your traffic isn’t private
- −Unreliable, and free ones can be insecure or log you
Okay for a one-off browser task; not for privacy or anything sensitive.
The Tor network
Very private, slow- +Free and highly anonymous
- +Routes through multiple relays so no single point sees everything
- −Very slow — poor for streaming or big downloads
- −Hard to choose a country
- −Some sites block Tor traffic
Excellent for maximum anonymity on light browsing; impractical for everyday use.
How to change your IP with a VPN
The whole process takes about two minutes:
- 1Choose and install a VPN
Pick a reputable provider and install its app. Not sure which? See how to choose a VPN.
- 2Open the app and pick a location
Choose the country you want your IP to appear from — any country the provider offers.
- 3Connect
Tap Connect. Your traffic now routes through that server and you take on its IP address.
- 4You’ve changed your IP
Websites now see the server’s IP and location instead of your real one.
How to check your IP changed
- Connect first, then search “what is my IP” or open an IP checker.
- It should show the country you chose — not your real one.
- Want the full privacy check? Run a VPN leak test to confirm nothing’s leaking your real IP or DNS.
Does changing my IP make me anonymous?
No — and it’s important to be clear about it. Hiding your IP stops location-based tracking and geo-blocking, but you remain identifiable in other ways: you’re still logged in to your accounts, cookies still follow you, and browsers can be fingerprinted. Changing your IP is a genuine, worthwhile privacy step — just not an invisibility cloak. For the fuller picture, see do I need a VPN and our best VPN for privacy guide.