A little help with IP addresses

[silvanet]

I notice that my Kodi installation does not report my external IP address. In the System Information Summary and Network sections I never see my external IP, always my router gateway and the D notice that my Kodi installation does not report my external IP address. In the System Information Summary and Network sections I never see my external IP, always my router gateway and the DHCP assigned internal IP. I've looked through logs and I have never found my external IP anywhere. Am I looking in the wrong place? I do have a VPN, but I'm wondering why I really need one. Any input or explanations?

 

[RavRob]

You should never see your IP in the log. Your network IP is the only thing you will see on any devices unless you access such a site as "whatismyip". This site (and other similar) will show you the actual external IP that shows to the world. It shows your network IP because that is what you need to access your device from other devices on your network.

As for a VPN, it is not a bad idea to have one but it really depends on what you are streaming. If you stream only legal content, you definitely don't need one. If you stream illegal content from hosters, there isn't much of a need for one either but many prefer to hide their identity for this as well. If you stream from Torrents using things like "popcorn time" (there's an apk for this now) then a VPN is pretty much a must.