Have you ever received threats from someone in PS4 voice chat saying they‘ll find your IP address and location? As scary as that sounds, it is possible for people to grab your IP while gaming on PlayStation 4.
In this guide, I‘ll overview how IP tracking works, the various methods people use to find IPs on PS4, and most importantly, how you can prevent them from getting your real IP address. My goal is to educate you on protecting your privacy so you can game safely.
Why Do People Try to Find IPs on PS4?
Before getting into the details, it helps to understand why this happens in the first place.
Gaming can get heated. The competitive nature sometimes brings out the worst in people. Trash talk is common, and in voice chat some take it too far by threatening opponents. Popular examples include:
- Finding your IP to reveal your location and physically show up at your house
- Launching a DDoS attack to lag out your internet connection
Fortunately, most of these are empty threats. Actually tracking down and harming someone takes more specialized skills and intent than an angry kid on voice chat likely possesses.
However, a DDoS that overloads your connection is possible. And your IP can reveal an approximate location, plus data about your device and network. So while threats may be baseless, keeping your IP secure removes that risk.
Overview: How IP Tracking Works on PS4
First, what exactly is an IP address?
- It‘s a unique numeric identifier for a device connected to the internet or local network.
- Required for online gaming so systems can communicate properly.
- Can be used to derive approximate location and other device details.
Public IP addresses are fully exposed and trackable. Private IPs hide behind internet gateways to avoid this.
- Public IP: Assigned by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), used across the whole internet.
- Private IP: Assigned by your router, only visible on local network.
PlayStation 4 utilizes NAT type (Network Address Translation) to enable multiplayer gaming while keeping users‘ public IPs more hidden.
- Connects multiple devices through one IP address inside a local network.
- Masks public IP, but still exposes private IP to other players.
So normally other gamers won‘t see your public IP, just your private one…but tools exist to uncover public IPs anyway.
How People Find Your IP Address on PS4
While the PS4 offers some protection, your public IP can still be obtained by people using various methods like:
- Packet sniffing programs
- IP puller websites
- PSN Resolver tools
- Exploiting the party chat system
I‘ll explain how each approach works below. This info allows you to understand your vulnerabilities.
Packet Sniffing with Wireshark
One popular method relies on packet sniffing tools like Wireshark to grab IP addresses from network traffic.
Here are the steps typically involved:
- Connect a PC and your PS4 to the same network.
- Enable internet connection sharing on the PC.
- Use Wireshark on the PC to monitor all network packets.
- Join a PS4 game lobby or party so gaming data gets exchanged.
- Inspect the traffic in Wireshark to extract player IPs.
This allows seeing all the IPs connecting to yours. The process can be a bit technical, but achieves full IP exposure.
Risks: Public & private IPs of all lobby/chat members get revealed.
IP Pulling with Grabify
Another common tactic uses IP puller sites like Grabify. Their strategy relies on social engineering instead of tools.
Here‘s how it typically works:
- Generate a Grabify link for an interesting webpage.
- Shorten the link to disguise it.
- Send the disguised link to a PS4 gamer.
- If they click it, Grabify logs their IP and other metadata.
This grabs only clicked target‘s IP rather than full lobby exposure like packet sniffing. But it‘s simpler for less technical people to execute.
Risks: Real public IP gets revealed if you click on suspicious links.
PSN Resolver Services
For exposing IPs linked to PSN accounts specifically, resolver sites like this one are popular.
The process is straightforward:
- Enter a PSN username into the resolver tool.
- Retrieve the public IP address associated with that account.
Again, only reveals a single target instead of full groups. But very simple to use, requiring only a username.
Risks: Your PSN username can easily be used to public IP without interaction.
Party Chat Exploits
Beyond common methods, techniques like the PlayStation Party Chat IP Pull Exploit also exist:
- Trick users into joining malicious party chats.
- Use chat server vulnerabilities pull IP address.
Even savvy PS4 users can be caught off guard by chat system weaknesses. However exploits like this do get patched over time as they spread.
Risks: Joining unknown party chats exposes your IP until Sony fixes issues.
Preventing IP Tracking on Your PS4
Now that you understand how IPs get exposed on PS4, here are pro tips for protecting your own:
Use a VPN Designed for Gaming
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) route your traffic through remote servers to mask IP addresses. For PS4 use, pick services optimized for gaming:
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Fast speeds – gaming requires responsive connections, select VPNs tested to avoid lag. My top recommendation is Ivacy due to their fast speeds.
-
Port forwarding – required for open NAT on PSN. Tunnelbear includes port forwarding to allow gaming smoothly.
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SOCKS5 proxies – route PSN traffic without VPN detection. ExpressVPN‘s SOCKS5 feature enables reliable server obfuscation.
With the right VPN, you can mask your public IP and location without sacrificing multiplayer performance.
Use Gaming Proxy Services
Proxies offer another layer of IP protection:
- Route traffic through intermediary proxy servers instead of VPN tunnels.
- Allows changing IPs regularly and combining VPN+Proxy for anonymity.
- Top providers specifically for PS4 include Blazing Proxies and MyPrivateProxy.
The combo of VPN + chained proxies makes tracing your original IP extremely difficult.
Additional Steps to Take
Don‘t stop at just VPNs and proxies, enabling extra settings strengthens protection:
- Set PSN privacy settings to hide your personal details. Restrict data sharing with other users.
- Disable voice chat to prevent party chat exploits or verbal slip ups with personal info.
- Use secure payment methods like PSN gift cards instead of saved credit cards.
- Factory reset your PS4 before selling it in case of data remnants.
- Research reputable tools instead of random Discord links for sensitive functions like unlocking.
Taking comprehensive measures secures all attack routes instead of just IP exposure.
FAQ on Finding and Protecting your PS4 IP
You‘ve probably still got some questions at this point. Here are answers to some frequently asked stuff:
Is it illegal to lookup someone‘s IP address?
Searching IPs alone generally isn‘t illegal, but what matters is the intent behind it. Using that data to actually hack, threaten, or harm people breaks laws.
But violations around "unauthorized access" can have gray areas still. For instance, terms from websites whose tools you used may prohibit certain usage. And while not outright illegal, IP lookups still often violate someone‘s privacy.
So in short – avoid doing IP searches on other players without consent. And never use that info maliciously.
Can you get hacked from someone having your IP address?
Grabbing just an IP address does not directly give hackers access to break into accounts or devices. That would require obtaining credentials in addition to IP data.
However, there are attacks possible using only an IP:
- DDoS – bombard and overwhelm your connection with traffic.
- MAC Flooding – overwhelms router to disconnect devices.
- DNS Hijacking – redirect domains to malicious sites.
So while full "hacking" requires more factors, various disruptive attacks work from IPs alone. Their effectiveness depends on attackers‘ resources and skills.
Does PS4 VPN reduce connection speed?
Yes, all VPNs degrade speed to some extent. By adding hops through proxies, encryption, and general overhead the impact is unavoidable.
However the level of slow down depends heavily on the specific VPN service‘s infrastructure and optimization. As covered earlier, providers like Ivacy offer speeds sufficient for lag-free gaming.
If you notice FPS drops or input lag while using a VPN, adjusting protocols or locations may help. But overall protection has a cost in speed.
Can Sony ban VPN or proxy use on PS4?
Sony does prohibit using proxies or VPNs when connecting to PSN "in order to disguise usage locations or secure unfair advantages" in their terms.
However, thus far enforcement seems focused only on cheating leaderboards or obtaining regional pricing. Using security measures solely for protection and privacy appears acceptable currently.
As with any gray area though, proceed at your own risk. Thus far wide reports of bans for general VPN usage haven‘t surfaced amongst cautious gamers.
Does leaving voice chat parties hide your IP?
Once connected to party chat, your IP gets exposed to other members. But unlike lobby chat it remains visible even after leaving the party.
So unless the whole party disbands, all former members keep everyone‘s IPs. This persists until shutting down the PS4 completely to reset connections.
That‘s what enables abuse where rejoined messages bait users into parties to pull IPs after they left initially.
Can changing DNS settings protect my IP?
Devices mainly use DNS (Domain Name System) to convert website names into IP addresses for routing. These queries don‘t expose your IP.
However, DNS can still leak identifying data like location or provider names. Using custom public DNS administered by organizations like Cloudflare instead hides this.
But since DNS doesn‘t directly handle your normal public IP, it does little to mask that. Protections like VPNs that alter actual traffic paths do more for IP protection.
Let‘s Game Safely
I know I‘ve covered a lot of complex networking concepts here. But my goal is to equip you with knowledge to protect your online privacy when gaming.
Getting threats while just trying to have fun with friends is frustrating. By learning how attackers target IPs and preventative tools available, you can enjoy multiplayer on PS4 safely.
If anything remains unclear or you have any other questions, don‘t hesitate to ask me. I have over a decade of cybersecurity experience and am always happy to help fellow gamers!