The short answer is that no, you cannot connect to or access the internet without an IP address, but there is a bit more to this than just that.
Firstly, it is important to understand what the purposes of IP addresses are and where they fit into local networks and the internet.
The purpose of an IP Address
The term IP address is short for Internet Protocol Address. Any device that communicates on a network or on the internet needs this to communicate.
There are millions of devices connected to the internet at any given time. Any data that is being sent or received needs to know where to go.
The IP address identifies individual devices and enables other devices and online entities to communicate with it. Remember that data are packets of information. Without an IP Address, these packets of information will get lost.
The transfer of data are not just things like uploading or downloading photos, as an example. If you are connected to a website and you click on something, your click is data that is sent. The response from the website, like displaying a different page, is data that is sent back to you.
If you did not have an IP address to identify your connection to the internet, it would be as if you ordered something online, but do not disclose where it needs to be delivered. You will never get your delivery.
This is why you cannot connect to the internet without some sort of IP address
When is my IP not visible on the internet?
Using the same analogy as before, what if you don’t want to disclose your home address, but rather want to send a package to your work address? When it arrives, at the reception desk, or mail room, they will know who you are and how to get it to you.
IP addresses work in a similar way.
When you are connected to a network, let’s say the Wi-Fi router at your local coffee shop, you will have a private IP address that is only visible within this network.
The IP address that will be visible online, will be the that of the Wi-Fi router. The Wi-Fi router will assign a private IP address to you, so that the router can establish a two-way connection between you and the internet.
Your private IP address cannot access the internet directly, but it can access a router that is connected to the internet. That is of course if the network that you are connected to has and allows you internet access.
In other words, you still need an IP address, but in this scenario your IP address will only be visible within the Wi-Fi network.
As mentioned, the IP address of the Wi-Fi router is still visible and will still send and receive all data routed to and from your device.
This means that if you are concerned that someone will know your location and that that is why you do not want to have your IP address visible, then the fact that you are near the Wi-Fi router, who’s IP address is visible, then they will still know your approximate location.
This is where a VPN comes in handy. With a VPN you will still have a public IP address. However, by using the VPN software, your device will make an encrypted connection to your VPN service provider.
One of their servers will then make the connection to the internet. It will be their IP address that will be visible to the outside world. Your location based on the visible IP address will be that of whichever VPN location you choose to establish your internet connection from.
This is arguably one of the biggest reasons why VPN services are becoming so popular.
As an example, say that you are in the UK and want to get an American IP address. If you have a VPN service, you can select an American server to connect you to the internet.
The IP address and all information obtainable from an IP address, visible to the rest of the online world, will be that of the VPN server, not yours.
Some of the popular VPN service providers are providers like NordVPN and ExpressVPN. These days there are also Antivirus software providers like Norton and McAfee who provide options for packages that include VPN.