Your IP address is your identity online. There are some time where having this ID hidden is better than having it exposed. Though 'hiding' has a negative connotation, like you've got something to actually hide, the information in this article is not about hacking or online criminal activity. Hiding your IP address on Android phones and tables can also be used for privacy, security, and entertainment.

Entertainment

Just a quick note on entertainment because if you probably would have typed in something like "unblock sites" or "access something or other" if you wanted to change your IP for entertainment stuff. Basically, some sites block IP addresses. Many of these are streaming or membership sites that block IPs based on country. To unblock these sites, you can get an IP from an approved country and hide your real IP. Sometimes, like with gambling sites, you need a foreign IP to access these sites because your ISP or country firewall has blocked them.

Privacy

This is a very vague concept, and achieving privacy online is getting very difficult. There are browser add ons and search engine settings that claim to make your online session private, but the truth is that there are much larger forces at work. Your ISP, your government, and corporations are very interested in what you do online. Ok, so you're not that interesting, but for statistics, sales, and national security, they'd love to know exactly who you are, where you've been, and what you do online. Even with software designed specifically to hide your identity online, it's an uphill battle. Virtual private networks are also called private VPNs or anonymous VPNs.

Basically, they hide your real IP and replace it with a private, virtual IP. Without the proper credentials, no one can access the network. Without a court order no once can access the servers. If the servers are located in another country, it becomes even more difficult to access your private information.

Security

Another feature of having a hidden IP from an anonymous VPN site is security. Your IP address is the front door to your private data, and the key is under the mat. Ok, so maybe my analogy isn't perfect, but the point stands that if your IP can be found on a shared network, it's just a few steps away to being able to view and intercept that data you send on the net. VPNs provide data encryption to scramble your data so no one can decode it without the proper key. VPN tunneling provides a safe path for your data to the VPN server.

Android

So I haven't said much about Android specifically. Basically, VPN work the same for all your devices. The difference is that smartphones will use two types of VPN protocols - PPTP or L2TP. PPTP is generally considered a faster VPN, while L2TP is better for privacy and security. If you've got a decent internet connection to begin with though, you don't have to worry about lag with L2TP. VPN software designed for Android is available at VPN services, which you can find online. To hide your IP with a VPN connection, you don't need any hardware. You only need to sign up for a VPN service, install their software, and sign into a VPN server with the IP location of your choice.