Notable IP addresses / 8.8.8.8

8.8.8.8
Google Public DNS (primary)

Public DNS resolverGoogle LLCAS15169

The most widely used public DNS resolver in the world. Anycast: the same address answers from Google data centres on every continent.

Google launched 8.8.8.8 in December 2009 as a free, fast recursive DNS service. It supports plain DNS on port 53, DNS over TLS (dns.google:853) and DNS over HTTPS (https://dns.google/dns-query). Its secondary address is 8.8.4.4 and the IPv6 pair is 2001:4860:4860::8888 / 2001:4860:4860::8844.

Because it is anycast, a geolocation lookup of 8.8.8.8 returns Google's registered location (Mountain View, California) rather than the data centre that actually answered you. This is the classic example of why IP geolocation is unreliable for anycast infrastructure.

You will see 8.8.8.8 in network settings, router configs, ping tests ("ping 8.8.8.8" is the universal "is my internet up?" check) and in DNS leak test results when your device bypasses your ISP or VPN resolver.

Related addresses

8.8.4.4
Google Public DNS (secondary)
1.1.1.1
Cloudflare DNS (1.1.1.1)
9.9.9.9
Quad9 DNS
2001:4860:4860::8888
Google Public DNS (IPv6)

Frequently asked questions

Is 8.8.8.8 safe to use?

Yes. It is operated by Google, supports DNSSEC validation and encrypted transports. The trade-off is that Google sees your DNS queries (Google states logs are anonymised within 24–48 hours).

Why does 8.8.8.8 show as Mountain View when I am in Europe?

Anycast. Hundreds of servers share the address; the registry record points at Google HQ, so geolocation databases return California regardless of which server answered.

What is the difference between 8.8.8.8 and 8.8.4.4?

None functionally. 8.8.4.4 is the secondary resolver so clients have a fallback if one address is unreachable.