What Is IPv4?
IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) is the foundational protocol that routes the majority of internet traffic today. Deployed in 1983, it uses 32-bit addresses written as four decimal numbers separated by dots (e.g., 192.168.1.1). This format allows for approximately 4.3 billion unique addresses — a number now almost entirely allocated.
The exhaustion of IPv4 addresses has led to widespread use of NAT (Network Address Translation), where multiple devices share a single public IPv4 address. While NAT extends the life of IPv4, it adds complexity and can break certain applications.
IPv4 and VPN Privacy
Shared IPv4 addresses through NAT can provide some anonymity — multiple users behind the same public IP are harder to distinguish. However, IPv4 addresses combined with ISP timestamps can still uniquely identify individual users. A VPN replaces your IPv4 address with the VPN server's address, shared among many users.
IPv4 in VPNWG
VPNWG fully supports IPv4 routing through the WireGuard tunnel. All IPv4 traffic is encrypted and routed through the VPN server. The AllowedIPs configuration is set to 0.0.0.0/0, capturing all IPv4 traffic. Check your IPv4 address.