How to Hide Your IP Address on Android
What is an IP Address?
An IP address is a unique number that is different for every user. With the help of an IP address, one can identify the specific device that you are using to access the internet. IP stands for Internet Protocol which is a set of rules that ensures proper transmitting of information over the internet.
Reasons to hide your IP Address on Android
There are several reasons to hide your IP address on your Android device. If you want a better web browsing experience or you are concerned about your security and privacy, you can hide your IP address. You can check out the following reasons to hide your IP address on Android devices.
- Bypass the geo-blocks You can easily bypass the geographical restrictions by hiding your IP address. You may have experienced coming across a website that does not allow you to view the content as your government may restrict that specific content in your country. When you hide your IP address, you can easily bypass these geo-blocks and thereby view the content that is not available in your country.
- Protect your privacy and for security concerns Some users prefer to hide their IP address to protect their privacy, as with the help of an IP address, anyone can identify your country, location, and even your ZIP postal code. Moreover, a hacker can even find out your real identity with your IP address paired with some information about your username that you may be used on online platforms. Therefore, to protect privacy, many users may hide their IP addresses.
- Bypass firewalls There are times when you cannot access certain websites when you are in your school, university, airport, or other places. This is because the network administrator has blocked access to certain websites. However, when you hide your IP address, you can easily bypass these firewall restrictions and access certain websites.
3 Ways to Hide Your IP Address on Android
We are listing three ways that you can use to hide your IP address on Android Phone. Hiding the IP address on your PC or laptop is easy, but many users don’t know how to hide the IP address. You can check out these methods to effortlessly conceal your IP address on your phone:
Method 1: Use a VPN software to hide your IP address
You can use a VPN (virtual private network) application to hide your real IP address. A VPN application helps in routing all the data that you browse over the internet to another location. A VPN application acts as a middleman between your device and the server. Therefore, to hide your IP address on Android, you can use a VPN app such as NordVPN, which is one of the best VPN software out there.
The first step is to check your IP address. Head to Google and type “what is my IP address” to know your IP address.
Now, open the Google Play Store and install the NordVPN app on your Android device.
Launch the app and tap on SIGN UP to start creating your Nord account. Enter your email address and tap on Continue.
Create a strong password for your Nord account and tap on Create Password.
After creating your account, you will get a 7 day free trial for using the app or tap on pick a plan to use the VPN services effortlessly.
To change your IP address, scroll down and check the available country servers. Select your desired country server and tap on ‘QUICK CONNECT‘ to change your IP address.
To check if the VPN service is working or not, you can head to your browser and type, “what’s my IP?” You will now see the new IP address instead of the old one. That’s it; you can quickly hide your IP address using VPN software like NordVPN. Some other alternatives of VPN software are ExpressVPN, Surfshark, and Cyberghost.
Method 2: Use Tor Network
You can use the Tor (The onion router) browser or the Tor network to hide your IP address. When you use the Tor browser, your data is relayed and encrypted through a series of three relay nodes. In simple terms, to keep your traffic secure, the traffic goes through several servers and computers run by volunteers to hide your IP address. However, if we talk about the drawback of using the Tor network, you must know that it can be time-consuming as your traffic will take some time to go through several relays. Moreover, when your traffic reaches the last relay, your data is completely decrypted, and whoever is running the last relay will have access to your IP address and some other information. Also Read: How To Hide Your Phone Number on Caller ID on Android
Method 3: Use a Proxy
You can use a proxy server to handle your internet traffic on your behalf. This way, you will be able to hide your IP address on your Android device. A proxy server will act as a middleman between you and the internet, where you send connection requests to the proxy server, and the proxy server forwards these connection requests on your behalf to hide your IP address. Now, if you want to set up a proxy server on your Android device, you have to configure the proxy settings for the Wi-Fi network that you use. However, you can only use the proxy for your web browser, and other internet applications may ignore the proxy server.
Open Settings on your Android device and tap on Wi-Fi to access your Wi-Fi network.
Now, long-press on your Wi-Fi network or tap on the arrow icon next to your Wi-Fi network to access the network settings then tap on the Proxy or Advanced options.
You will see options like None, Manual, or Proxy Auto-Config. This step will vary from Phone to phone. Tap on ‘Manual‘ for changing your proxy settings by typing your Hostname and Port.
You can also select the Proxy Auto-Config option if your device supports it. Choose the proxy Auto-config option, type the PAC URL.
Finally, you can tap on the tick icon to save the changes. Q1. Why do Android Users May want To Hide Their IP Address? Many Android users hide their IP addresses due to security concerns, or Android users may want to access websites or content that their country restricts. If you try to access the restricted content in your country, the server will detect your IP address, and you will not be able to access the content. However, when you hide your IP address, you can easily access this restricted content. Q2. Can my IP Address ever truly be hidden? You can hide your IP address with the help of VPN software or by using the proxy server. However, your VPN provider will be able to access your IP address, and in case you are using the Tor network, then whoever is running the last relay will be able to access your IP address. So we cannot say that our IP address is ever truly hidden on the internet. Therefore, it is important to select a reliable VPN provider that does not keep data logs of the user activity. Q3. What is IP masking? IP masking refers to hiding your IP address by creating a fake IP address. When you hide your IP address by using a VPN provider or using the proxy server, then you are masking your real IP address behind a fake one to hide your identity or your real IP address. Recommended:
How to Change MAC Address on Android Devices How to Hide Files, Photos, and Videos on Android Fix Snapchat Messages Won’t Send Error How to Use Android Phone as Speaker for PC or TV
So, these were some methods that you can use to hide your IP address on Android. Taking care of your privacy is the biggest concern, and we understand that hiding the IP address can help you protect your privacy. If you liked the article, let us know in the comments below.
