What’s an IP address?

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Do my computer and phone have the same IP address if they’re connected to the same wifi? If so, how do the websites distinguish my computer from my phone?

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An IP address is a unique identifier for a device on a network. Every device on a network must have a unique IP address. The Internet is considered a giant network, so every device directly connected to the Internet has a unique IP address.

>Do my computer and phone have the same IP address if they’re connected to the same wifi?

Yes and no.

Your modem has a single IP address as seen by the rest of the world. So if you visit a site from any device on your network, that site will see the same IP address.

However, to distinguish devices within a network, each device must have its own address as well. These addresses are usually assigned by the modem, and these addresses only need to be unique *within* the network.

For example, to the outside world, your modem may have the IP address 123.45.67.89, but within your network, your devices may have IP addresses like 192.168.0.1, 192.168.0.2, etc. The modem/router determines how to direct the data based on information like the port number.

>If so, how do the websites distinguish my computer from my phone?

The website doesn’t need to. It just responds to requests. Your modem/router is responsible for determining where to route data.

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