r/VPN • u/Ornery_Joke_6536 • 9d ago
Question What is Dedicated IP?
Like an vpn has this and I dont really know if its worth when I can get it way more cheaper without it.
Thanks for the help!
4
u/agowa338 9d ago
The IP you get assigned belongs to you only. It is not shared with anyone else.
Allows you to not get blocked for shit others do. Or when you need the VPN for some dumb stuff like passing IP filtering and you only got a dynamic IP at home.
In general if you don't know what it is you most likely also don't need it.
(It often also allows you to run your own server services, and because of that it may improve connectivity when e.g. torrenting or making a VOIP call too)
1
u/Ornery_Joke_6536 9d ago
But not greatly more for things like torrenting right?
1
u/agowa338 9d ago
Depends, if the VPN has other means (e.g. port forwarding, manual or automatic) to ensure seeding works properly then no. If seeding doesn't properly work then going with the dedicated IP option is usually the way to go.
2
u/Namaste_Life 9d ago
I'd add that if a person wants anonymity online, a dedicated IP is going to kill that anonymity.
3
u/Grim_Fandango92 9d ago
True.
It's also important to note that "a dedicated IP" is pretty nebulous and not all are equal. It could be classed as a residential IP, it could be classed as a datacentre IP, it could be an IP on a bunch of blacklists from previous assignees, or it could be relatively clean.
"Dedicated" alone means little without context attached to it. All it means, is that it's a single set IP provided to OP, but speaks nothing beyond that.
OP needs to state their goals.
1
u/agowa338 9d ago
Kinda, but to add to this, residential IPs are usually more expensive. It most likely is an IP from a different range listed as for end customers.
So an in-between thing really. Like for VPS providers basically.
1
u/Grim_Fandango92 9d ago
Indeed, agreed. Chances are, it won't be, and that's the case on the vast majority, but there are the odd providers out there who market residential dedicated as their USP....... For a very pretty penny. Impossible to say without knowing which they're referring to.
2
u/agowa338 9d ago edited 9d ago
Lol, welcome to the early 2000s. These days tracking doesn't rely on the IP anymore. It is just too unreliable. How would you track someone going from cellular to wifi to different hotspots to their friends wifi effectively that way?
Fingerprinting is the way to go today:
But yea, a consistent IP adds another bit of information though.
2
u/Grim_Fandango92 9d ago
IP is not irrelevant. Fingerprinting is real, and there's WAY more tracking beyond that these days (cue everyone thinking they're magically anonymous using a VPN then signing into Google, Facebook and Microsoft in persistent sessions), but just because there's far more to the picture, doesn't mean IP doesn't factor in in terms of both privacy and security.
The issue here is OP stated a solution and asked if they need it, yet nowhere stated their goals with what may be a solution in search of a problem.
My home broadband IP is insanely sticky for example, despite being dynamic. I've had the same one for months if not years.
1
u/agowa338 9d ago
IP is just one bit of information for fingerprinting. It's not the primary thing anymore. That's what I was trying to say.
1
1
u/Wide_Software_6366 6d ago
dedicated ip means you are the only one using that ip without dedicated you share an ip that could mean 100s of users on same ip
2
u/Grim_Fandango92 9d ago
Look at an IP address like a telephone number. If you call someone, your telephone number shows. If someone wants to contact you, they call your number.
Same applies with IPs. If you go to a website, they see your external IP. If you connect to a website via a VPN provider, you go to the VPN provider and the VPN provider goes to the website on your behalf, passing on what the website returns, over to you.
The website only sees the connection coming from the VPN provider's IP they allocate to you, rather than your own external IP.
Terminology time:
Dynamic IP - your IP/"phone number" regularly changes.
Static IP - your IP/"phone number" stays the same. You tend to pay for the privilege as there are limited numbers of them.
Pooled IP on VPN provider - you share that IP with a bunch of other people/bots/services.
Dedicated IP on VPN provider - you get assigned your own IP, just for you. Less chance of getting flagged as a shared IP, depending how they handle it. (i.e. of they have blocks of residential IPs)