Using a VPN to make it look like you’re using an entirely different IP address is one of the main reasons the software has become so popular over the last decade.
It's the clever little trick that helps you bypass geo-restricted services and apps, while also giving a swerve to the kind of advertisers that track your online movements around the web.
And yet you don't have to squint too much to view IP address spoofing as a happy accident of virtual private networks’ core mechanism. When rerouting your internet traffic via their encrypted tunnels and secure servers, it appears as if it’s passing through an IP address linked to that server’s location instead of your own.
Sitting on a static IP — even one that is randomly allocated — can still cause certain headaches, though. These have historically been difficult headaches to shrug off.
And that’s where Surfshark’s rotating IPs come in…
The problem with static IPs
For many VPN users, static IPs are just fine. If you’re using a VPN because you’re worried about the security of the airport wi-fi network or to make sure you can watch “Grey’s Anatomy” while on overseas vacation, the problem is negligible.
But if you’re somebody who keeps their VPN turned on at all times or are using it for certain specialist reasons, sitting on a single IP address can raise issues.
“Websites often limit requests from one IP to prevent abuse (spam, attacks, scraping),” says Surfshark’s Senior Product Manager, Justas Pukys.
“Moreover, a flagged IP suggests suspicious activity, potentially attracting attackers exploiting vulnerabilities.”
Issues that can be caused by the use of just one IP address include:
- More traceable to trackers: Along with cookies and certain aspects of web browsers, your IP address is one of the key ways that advertisers and data brokers are able to piece together a user profile on you and direct their ads accordingly.
- Persistent CAPTCHAs: Repeated activity from the same IP address can raise a red flag with tech companies and internet service providers (ISPs) — perhaps that bots or data scraping services are running rampant. This can then trigger those annoying ‘Are you human’ image-based tasks, like identifying buses and bikes.
- Vulnerability to hackers and scammers: Some bad actors online look for vulnerabilities or open ports that can be associated with single IP addresses as their way in to target people online. An exposed IP can also leave you potentially in danger of targeted attacks from phishing scammers and, in extreme cases, stalkers.
- Not good for gamers: Some people will do anything to get ahead! If you’re a gamer and are worried about DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks or other types of online harassment, you won’t want to be associated with the same IP address for too long.
What is IP rotation — and how can it help?
Surfshark’s paracetamol to cure the headaches described above is almost disarmingly straightforward: What if, when using the VPN, your IP address changes on a regular basis?
Thanks to its Nexus technology — connecting you through a whole network of servers when you log in, rather than directly to one — Surfshark is able to automatically change your IP address every five minutes.
Websites often limit requests from one IP to prevent abuse (spam, attacks, scraping). Frequent IP rotation bypasses these rate limits, preventing blocks and ensuring uninterrupted access.
Justas Pukys, Senior Product Manager at Surfshark
And, because it does so within the same server location, you’ll never even notice that it’s happening.
It’s an elegant solution that Pukys says “solves the problem of online tracking by frequently switching your IP address, which makes it much harder for snoopers to track your online activity”.
It also enhances online privacy to the next level by ensuring that users’ actions appear to originate from different IPs across sessions. This makes it harder to connect them to a single identity.
How to use Surfshark's IP rotation
Surfshark’s IP rotation tool is available across a whole host of its clients and apps, with subscribers to any of its packages using Windows, MacOS, Android and iOS all able to take advantage.
Head to Surfshark’s settings menu, then select VPN Settings and Advanced Settings. There you’ll find a toggle selector for Rotating IP that you push to the on position.
And, well… that’s it. You don’t have to think about it after that as Surfshark will automatically begin changing your IP address every five minutes.
Surfshark makes it very clear that users should be aware that selecting the global IP option within the Rotating IP feature may impact their daily internet experience, as frequent IP address changes can cause some websites or apps to load or function improperly.
If, therefore, you experience any peculiar behavior while using the internet with Surfshark, head back to the settings and turn it back off.
How else does Surfshark help circumvent static IP issues?
Rotating IPs aren’t unique to Surfshark. Cybersecurity giant Norton offers an automatic IP Rotation tool with its VPN, for example, while industry stalwart Windscribe has a semi-automatic version where you click a button as and when you want to change IP.
However, Surfshark announced upgrades to its IP rotator in November 2025, alongside a completely fresh feature: Multi IP.
Available only to Mac VPN users in the first instance, Multi IP channels your internet traffic through a different IP address every time you start a new session or visit a new website.
Like rotating IPs, this is made possible thanks to the provider’s Nexus technology and means that you’re assigned a new IP for every online resource that you access.
Plus, it gives the option of changing IPs within a specific country, region or globally, putting the agency back in your hands to protect your online privacy.
In an era when companies, governments and bad actors are using all the techniques within their grasp to build as detailed a picture of you online as possible, having the option to utilize tools like rotating IP and multi IP are just another two simple, non-intrusive methods that Surfshark gives you to shield yourself.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
