What Is an IP Address?
An IP address is how the internet delivers packets to a connection. Your public IP is the one websites see. InstantIPCheck shows that address, then explains the network around it.
Public versus private addresses
Devices on a home or office LAN often use private ranges such as 192.168.x.x. Those numbers stay inside the local network. The router presents one (or a handful of) public addresses to the rest of the internet. InstantIPCheck reports the public side.
IPv4 is still the address most people recognise. IPv6 is the newer, longer format. Many connections have both. If a site or VPN only covers one family, leak tests on the other family still matter.
What an IP is not
It is not a home address, a legal identity or a precise GPS coordinate. Several people can share an IP through carrier-grade NAT. A VPN replaces the address with the provider’s exit node.