What Is An IP, And Do You Really Need It?

An IP address is also known as an Internet Protocol address.
According to Business Insider, It's a short code that identifies your computer or device when you go online.
While it doesn't carry any personal information about you, other than your city or state, it is public to any website that you visit.
In most cases, you'll never need to know your IP address. But if you want to, you can find it with a simple Google search.
Or, you can hide it with a VPN, which edits your IP address to trick websites into thinking you're located somewhere that you're not.
This is helpful for accessing foreign versions of websites, for example, or for greater security and privacy in general.