Do DNS Providers See Your IP?

TL;DR

Yes, your DNS provider almost certainly knows your IP address. This is a necessary part of how the internet works. However, good providers have privacy policies and practices to protect this information.

Understanding How It Works

When you type a website address (like www.example.com) into your browser, your computer needs to find out the server’s actual IP address (like 93.184.216.34). This is done by asking a DNS server.

1. Your Request: Your computer sends a request to its configured DNS server (usually provided by your internet service provider, or a public DNS like Google’s 8.8.8.8 or Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1).
2. IP Address Needed: The DNS server needs to know where the request is coming from – that’s your IP address! It can’t send the answer back without it.
3. DNS Resolution: The DNS server looks up the IP address for www.example.com. If it doesn’t know, it asks other DNS servers until it finds one that does.
4. Response: The DNS server sends the IP address back to your computer.

Because of this process, your DNS provider *always* sees your IP address when you use their service.

Why They Need It

• Routing: As mentioned above, they need it to send the response back to you.
• Security: Knowing your IP can help them identify and block malicious activity originating from your network.
• Performance: Some providers use your location (determined by your IP) to direct you to the closest server for faster speeds.

What About Privacy?

While they *can* see your IP, good DNS providers take steps to protect your privacy:

1. Logging Policies: Check their logging policy. Some providers don’t log IP addresses at all, or only keep logs for a very short period.
2. Data Sharing: See if they share data with third parties. Avoid providers that sell your information.
3. Encryption: Use DNS over HTTPS (DoH) or DNS over TLS (DoT). These encrypt your DNS queries, making it harder for anyone to eavesdrop on them.

How to Check Your Current DNS Settings

You can find out which DNS servers you’re using with these commands:

• Windows: Open Command Prompt and type ipconfig /all. Look for the “DNS Servers” entry under your network adapter.
• macOS/Linux: Open Terminal and type networksetup -getdnsservers Wi-Fi (replace ‘Wi-Fi’ with your active network interface if needed).

ipconfig /all

networksetup -getdnsservers Wi-Fi

How to Change Your DNS Servers

1. Network Settings: Go to your operating system’s network settings.
2. DNS Configuration: Find the section for configuring DNS servers (usually under TCP/IP settings).
3. Enter New Servers: Replace the existing DNS server addresses with those of a privacy-focused provider like Cloudflare (1.1.1.1 and 1.0.0.1) or Google Public DNS (8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4).

Important: Changing your DNS servers doesn’t hide your IP address from websites themselves – it only changes who handles the initial lookup of website addresses.