What is a key distinction between public and private IP addresses?

Public IP addresses are routable on the internet, which means they can be used to identify devices over the global internet and facilitate communication between them. Every device connected to the internet requires a public IP address to send and receive data. These addresses are assigned by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA) or regional internet registries and are unique across the entire internet, allowing devices from different networks to communicate with each other reliably.

In contrast, private IP addresses are intended for use within local networks and are not routable on the internet. They are defined by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) in RFC 1918 and can be reused in different local networks without causing conflicts. Devices with private IP addresses cannot be directly accessed from outside their local network without a network address translation (NAT) mechanism.

Thus, the distinction lies in the accessibility and routing capability; public IP addresses are designed for internet accessibility, while private ones are confined to local network environments.