Can Two People Have the Same IP Address?

Yes, two people can have the same IP address in more than one way. Anyone sharing your home, office, or public Wi-Fi network uses the same public IP address, since that address belongs to the router or gateway, not to any single device. Each person's device still gets its own separate private IP address for local traffic. IP addresses can also repeat across entirely different networks. Because the pool of available IPv4 addresses is limited, internet providers frequently reassign the same public IP to different customers over time, especially with dynamic IP addresses. Mobile carriers also commonly place many customers behind a small number of shared public IP addresses through a practice called carrier-grade NAT.