IP Tracking: What It Is and How It Works

Your IP address is your device’s name tag on the internet. If someone tracks it, they can figure out where the connection is coming from and which ISP is running it. While IP tracking is often regarded as negative, it actually has multiple security applications. Professionals use this technique to spot fraud, find lost devices, and prevent unauthorized access to networks or services.

In this guide, we’ll show you how IP tracking works, discuss its real-world applications, and teach you how to keep your own IP private.

Real-World Applications for IP Address Tracking

Monitor Suspicious Activity to Prevent Fraud

Banks, credit lenders, and other financial institutions use IP tracking to help prevent unauthorized access to your account. For instance, if you’re a US customer, you normally log in from a US IP address. When a login attempt to that account suddenly originates from Spain, it could indicate someone else is trying to access your account.

Increase Security and Prevent Unauthorized Access

Security systems track IP addresses to block attacks before they cause damage. In a Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack, for example, attackers flood a server with traffic from many IPs. The software detects the abnormal requests and blocks those IPs to stop the attack. The same approach applies to malicious IPs used for phishing or spam.

Provide Geo-Location Services

Apps like Google Maps and Find My Phone can use IP tracking as one of several signals to determine your general location and provide accurate directions. Similarly, your smartphone may also use your IP (if you enable location services) to estimate your general area, giving apps and browsers enough context to suggest nearby options like restaurants, shops, or rest stops.

Track and Target Marketing

Marketers use IP tracking to see how effective their campaigns are and to deliver more targeted ads. By connecting an IP address to a general location, businesses can adjust promotions or highlight deals in specific regions. One way companies collect these IP addresses is through pixel tracking: the practice of using a tiny invisible image embedded in emails or webpages to actively collect data such as IP address, time, and device details when it loads.

Support Law Enforcement Investigations

Law enforcement can work with internet service providers (ISPs) to trace IP addresses linked to illegal activity. ISPs typically keep records of which customer was using a specific IP at a given time, and with a subpoena, investigators can request that information. If there’s enough evidence, IP data can help support a warrant to search the location and examine devices more closely.

How IP Address Tracking Works

The process of finding an IP address looks a little different depending on whether the goal is to identify a local device’s IP, the address of a website, or the source of an email.

Tracert

The tracert (Windows) or traceroute (macOS/Linux) command is a diagnostic tool that network professionals use to see the path traffic takes across the internet and where it slows down or fails.

This can be useful when network admins need to spot delays, identify where a connection is failing, or verify the route to a server. It can also help security analysts investigating suspicious domains or researchers checking the infrastructure behind a website.

ARIN

ARIN (American Registry for Internet Numbers) is one of five global Regional Internet Registries (RIRs) that allocates and maintains ownership records for blocks of IP addresses and Autonomous System Numbers (ASNs). It covers North America, parts of the Caribbean, and some North Atlantic islands.

IT teams use it to see which organization is responsible for an IP address range, and security professionals and researchers turn to it when investigating suspicious traffic or mapping internet infrastructure.

Is Tracking an IP Address Legal?

Network administrators and cybersecurity experts track IPs for legitimate reasons, including troubleshooting issues, securing networks, detecting malware, preventing attacks, and finding cybercriminals. Here are a few areas they may focus on while analyzing an IP address:

• Registration details: Checking RIR records (like ARIN) shows network operators and security professionals when an IP block was allocated and when the record was last updated. This helps them confirm whether the allocation is active and track changes over time.
• Cybersecurity: Security professionals monitor suspicious domains and IP addresses to identify potential scams or instances of malware. They also use IP tracking to investigate cybercriminal activity and help prevent future threats.
• Ownership and contacts: Corporations may hire network security and administrative professionals to confirm that domains are legitimate before doing business with them. If something doesn’t line up with the information a potential partner initially provided, they can check with their website contact for clarification or simply refuse to do business with them.
• Determine liability: Law enforcement and legal teams can track an IP address to get valuable information to use in legal disputes. It can help determine liability in cases of intellectual copyright or property infringement or damage due to cybercrime.

Note: While IP tracking can play a role in investigations, attempting to trace someone’s IP address without proper authority can cross into harassment or privacy violations. In many jurisdictions, unauthorized tracking or disclosure of IP information may be illegal and could result in legal consequences.

How to Limit IP Address Tracking

Hiding your IP address makes it much harder for others to track you online. The main tools for this are:

• Virtual private network (VPN): A VPN encrypts your connection and routes it through a secure server that masks your IP address with its own. A good quality VPN will also provide leak protection, meaning your real IP won’t accidentally slip through due to DNS leaks, WebRTC leaks, or sudden connection drops. PIA VPN offers all of this, plus servers in 90+ countries, so you have plenty of IP locations to choose from.
• Proxy: Also masks your IP, but doesn’t usually encrypt data, making it a less secure option. It may require manual configuration and may only work with your browser.
• Tor browser: Tor bounces your connection through multiple relays, making your real IP difficult to trace, but it noticeably slows your connection.

How to Confirm Your IP Address Is Hidden

IP lookup tools may provide different types of information depending on the tool chosen. In this example, we’ll use PIA’s What’s My IP address tool with PIA VPN for Mac. It not only provides your current IP address, but it can also provide you with details about the service you’re using.

1. Log in to PIA VPN and connect to a server. Once connected, you’ll see your public (original) IP address to the left and your new VPN IP address to the right just under the large connect button.

2. Use an IP address checker tool (like PIA’s What’s My IP Address?) and you’ll see the server it has associated with your device connection above the search bar. It should match the VPN IP and location provided on your VPN app.

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