IP addresses # What an IP lookup can tell you Understand registry records, address ranges, optional routing data, reverse DNS, and why an IP location may be wrong. 4 minute read · Published October 11, 2026 ## A network observation is not a personal identity Our IP lookup first uses IANA’s IPv4 or IPv6 registry mappings to select ARIN, RIPE NCC, APNIC, LACNIC, or AFRINIC. The registry’s RDAP service can return an address range, network name and handle, administrative country, status, and record events. Missing fields are left unknown. Registration country does not establish where the person using the address is located. Registration, routing, and legal ownership are different questions. A prefix can be leased, delegated, or announced for another organization; neither a registry name nor an ASN identifies who used an address at a particular time. ## Worked example: the city does not match your home Suppose you are in Aarhus but another lookup places your mobile address in Copenhagen. The provider may carry traffic through a centralized gateway, or the location database may hold an older estimate. That mismatch alone is not evidence that someone has accessed your connection. If a VPN is enabled, the address may describe the VPN exit. The city of that exit does not establish your physical location. Country, registration address, network operator, and estimated user location are separate pieces of information. ## Use the result to answer a concrete question For a surprising result, make a small comparison before changing anything. - Look up your current IPv4 and IPv6 separately; they may use different networks or routes. - Record the exact IP and timestamp, then compare with and without your VPN when appropriate. - Treat reverse DNS as a label chosen by the address operator. A name containing a city or customer identifier is not verified location or identity. - For a location error affecting a service, contact that service or the database vendor it uses. Correcting one database does not update every provider. ## Missing information is a valid result The five regional registries are supported for IPv4 and IPv6, but some allocations refer onward to national registries outside our supported services. Those referrals can leave registration unavailable. A registry can also return no record or be temporarily unavailable. PTR and optional routing have independent statuses, so a missing source does not discard the others. Registration responses may be cached here for ten minutes and optional routing data for five. The lookup timestamp is when this check completed, not proof the registry was just updated. An unrouted address may still have registration data. The tool does not provide a household location, person search, VPN detection score, or reputation verdict. ## Further reading & sources - [IANA: IPv4 RDAP bootstrap registry ↗](https://www.iana.org/assignments/rdap-ipv4) - [IANA: IPv6 RDAP bootstrap registry ↗](https://www.iana.org/assignments/rdap-ipv6) - [MaxMind: IP geolocation accuracy and limitations ↗](https://support.maxmind.com/knowledge-base/articles/maxmind-geolocation-accuracy) [← Browse all guides](https://myip.dk/guides)[Check your connection →](https://myip.dk/) ---