IP lookup

What the results mean

Country, region and city come from IP geolocation data. The country is almost always right; the city is often only approximate. Mobile and corporate networks may show the provider’s hub city, and a VPN or proxy shows where its exit server is, not where the person is.

ISP and organisation are who the address block is registered to. The ASN (autonomous system number) identifies the network that announces the address on the internet — two IPs with the same ASN belong to the same network operator.

Hostname is the reverse DNS (PTR) name, if one is set. It often gives away the provider or the type of line, e.g. a name containing “dsl”, “cable” or a cloud provider.

Connection type separates hosting / datacenter addresses from residential / business lines. A sign-in attempt or contact-form message from a datacenter address usually comes from a server, a VPN or a bot rather than a person at home.

Common uses

• Investigating an IP from server logs, firewall alerts or failed sign-ins.
• Seeing where an email came from — the Email header analyzer finds the sending IP for you.
• Confirming that a server or VPN exit is in the country you expect.
• Checking the address’s reputation next, with the Blacklist check.

Can an IP lookup find a person?

No. It shows the network and a rough area, never a name or street address. Only the internet provider can link an IP address to a subscriber, and normally only through a legal request.