A private IP address is an address assigned to a device on a local network that can't be directly accessed from the internet. Think of it as a unique identifier for your device within your home network, like your house number on your street.
Here's a breakdown of how private IPs work:
Local network:
A private network is a group of devices connected together, like the computers and phones in your home.
Router assignment:
Your router, which is the device that connects your network to the internet, assigns a private IP address to each device on the network.
Communication within the network:
Devices use their private IPs to communicate with each other on the local network. For instance, when you print something from your laptop, it sends the data to your printer using their private IP addresses.
Not publicly accessible:
Private IP addresses aren't routable on the internet, meaning they can't be directly accessed from the web. This adds a layer of security to your network as devices outside your network can't connect to your devices using their private IPs.
In contrast, you also have a public IP address assigned by your internet service provider (ISP). This is the address that identifies your network on the internet. When you visit a website, your request goes out with your public IP address, and the response comes back to that address. Your router then directs the traffic to the specific device on your network that made the request using its private IP address.
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