Every website your team visits sees your IP address. From it, a site can work out an approximate location and the internet provider, and it can link activity across visits and across sites. Businesses have sound reasons to mask that address: protecting staff on public networks while they travel, checking how the company's own site and ads appear in another country, keeping competitor research separate from the office connection, or running client accounts within each platform's rules. This guide compares five methods, how each one works, and the work it suits.
The five methods at a glance
| Method | What it covers, encrypts and lets you choose | Typical team use |
|---|---|---|
| Proxy | One browser, tool or script at a time; you pick the country or city; adds no encryption, though HTTPS sites stay encrypted end to end | Market checks, ad verification, data collection |
| VPN | Every app on the device, encrypted up to the VPN server; locations limited to the provider's servers | Staff working on hotel or airport Wi-Fi |
| Tor | Whatever is sent through the Tor network, encrypted inside it; no choice of location by default | Privacy-first reading |
| Public Wi-Fi | The device for as long as it stays connected; no added encryption and no choice of location | A one-off change with no tools |
| Provider-issued IP | Your own line, in the same area as before; no added encryption | Leaving a stale or blocklisted address |
Start by checking what is visible
Note where you stand before anything changes. Our my IP tool reports the address that sites see today, and the DNS leak test reports whether your lookups give away your real provider while the rest of the traffic is masked. Those two readings are the baseline for every method that follows.
Proxy server: control per app and per location
Requests go to the proxy first; the proxy fetches the page and hands it back, so the site only ever records the proxy's IP. You decide the IP type and the location, and you can route one application while the rest of the machine stays direct; none of the other four methods offers that combination. We sell four types:
- Datacenter proxies: quick and economical, for work where speed counts and the sites are not especially strict.
- Residential proxies: addresses that internet providers assign to households, suited to market research and location-specific browsing.
- Mobile proxies: 4G and 5G carrier connections, for mobile ad checks and social media work.
- Premium proxies: the premium residential tier, chosen for long sessions where stability counts.
Setting one up takes minutes, whether in a browser, in the operating system's network settings or in a script. A Python job, for example, needs only the host:port address and a username and password:
import requests
proxies = {
"http": "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT",
"https": "http://USER:PASS@HOST:PORT",
}
r = requests.get("https://api.ipify.org", proxies=proxies, timeout=15)
print("Visible IP:", r.text)Run it and the printed address is the proxy's, not the office's. Plans are compared on the proxies page and the pricing page. Fits: per-app control, exact locations, data collection, ad verification, and account management within platform rules.
VPN: one encrypted tunnel for every app
A virtual private network (VPN) puts all of the device's traffic into an encrypted tunnel that ends at a remote server, and from there every app appears to use the server's IP. The encryption is the reason to use one on hotel, café or airport Wi-Fi. What you lose, compared with a proxy, is precision: the tunnel normally covers the whole device, and locations are limited to the provider's list. Fits: staff on the road, securing public Wi-Fi, and encrypting every app on a device at once.
Tor: privacy at the cost of speed
Tor routes traffic through a chain of volunteer-run relays and wraps it in a layer of encryption per relay; no single relay learns both where the traffic came from and where it is going. It is free and designed for privacy. It is also noticeably slow because of those extra hops, and many websites block or heavily challenge known Tor exit nodes. Good for privacy-critical reading and research; poor for streaming, large downloads or anything where performance matters. Fits: sensitive research where speed is not a concern.
Public Wi-Fi: a borrowed address, with risks
A library or café network lends you its public IP for as long as you stay connected, at no cost and with no setup. The catch is threefold: such networks are often insecure, the location is wherever you happen to be, and the address changes as you move. Use it now and then, never as a routine, and avoid signing in to sensitive accounts over open Wi-Fi unless something like a VPN adds encryption. Fits: a quick, temporary change of address with no tools.
Your provider: a fresh address on the same line
Sometimes the goal is a different address on the same line, with the location unchanged. Residential lines often use dynamic IPs, which can change when the modem is power-cycled or the lease renews. A few minutes with the router switched off may do it; for a permanent change, ask the internet provider. Your general location and identity stay visible, but the old IP is left behind. Fits: moving away from a stale or blocklisted address without ongoing tools.
Matching the method to the task
- Want a chosen location, or one masked app? Pick a proxy and match its type to the job.
- Staff on untrusted Wi-Fi who need every app encrypted? Issue a VPN.
- Privacy matters more than speed? Tor.
- Only need a different address for an hour? Join public Wi-Fi or restart the router.
One rule covers all five: use them for legitimate work and inside the rules of every service involved. Hiding an IP protects privacy and adds flexibility; it is never a licence to break the law or a platform's terms.
Check that the method works
Whichever method you pick, test it. The my IP tool should now show a different address, and a fresh run of the DNS leak test should show no trace of your real provider. If DNS still leaks, the change of IP is only cosmetic.
For teams that want control and a choice of location, a proxy is usually the practical answer; a VPN covers blanket encryption, and Tor covers privacy-first reading. Run the checks above, choose the method that fits the task, and confirm the result before anyone relies on it.
