Can You Tell Location By Ip Address
What does an IP address tell you and how it can put you at risk
April 23, 2021
Cars have VINs. Humans have Social Security numbers. And our internet-connected devices have unique identifiers, too — Internet Protocol addresses, commonly known as IP addresses.
Similar to those other identifiers in our lives, an IP address does reveal a little bit about you, namely your geolocation.
Here, we’ll dig further into the meaning, purpose, and inner workings of an IP address to explain just what does an IP address tell you — and others.
What is an IP address?
An IP address is a string of numbers assigned to an internet-connected device, much like an address on a house. Your computer network uses the IP address to communicate with other computers, websites, and all parts of cyberspace.
Essentially, IP addresses are how computers on the internet recognize one another. Your internet service provider (ISP) assigns IP addresses to your internet-connected devices, and every IP address is unique. Considering every single internet-connected device has an IP address, billions of IP addresses exist.
You can think of an IP address like a membership card to enter the World Wide Web. Every device that can connect to the internet is a member of the World Wide Web — computers, laptops, tablets, mobile phones, routers, etc. — and all have an IP address. Websites and computer networks require that form of identification for you to interact with them.
Understanding an IP address and how it works aside, it’s also important to understand the purpose of IP addresses in the first place.
What is the purpose of an IP address?
An IP address can be considered a digital address for your internet-connected devices, as it reveals your geolocation to help the internet deliver content that’s relevant to you.
For example, it’s due in part to your IP address that you see local restaurants pop up when you search “sushi restaurants. ”
How to find your IP address
To find your IP address, simply Google “what is my IP address. ” It’s as simple as that: The internet provides your IP address back to you. The internet knows your IP address because it’s assigned to your device and it is required to browse the internet.
Worth mentioning is that your IP address changes every time you connect to a different Wi-Fi network or router. Online users won’t even know the difference and, generally, they don’t need to — much like how they don’t necessarily need to know how to read an IP address.
Rather, online users should be aware of what information their IP address reveals.
What information does my IP address reveal?
IP addresses do reveal your geolocation, but not your precise location like a home address and never your name, phone number, or other precise personal information. Instead, IP addresses might reveal your city, ZIP code, or area code of where you are connecting to the internet at that moment — this is why IP addresses change every time you connect from a new location or using a new router.
And it’s generally your router’s IP address that is revealed, not the IP address of your internet-connected devices such as a computer, tablet, or mobile phone that communicate with a router to connect to the internet. Sure, these internet-connected devices share their IP address with your router, but your router uses its own IP address to grant your device access to the World Wide Web.
It’s for this reason that your IP address almost always reveals the geolocation of your ISP’s nearest servers — not your physical location at all — and your IP address also reveals the name of your ISP.
Finally, to put your mind at ease, we have answers to a few common IP address FAQs regarding what information an IP address reveals about you:
What does an IP address tell you? For the most part, an IP address tells you the city, ZIP code, or area code of your ISP, as well as your ISP’s name.
What can an IP address tell you? To some degree, your physical location and also the name of your ISP.
Can IP addresses reveal your identity? No, not outrightly. However, others can piece together bits of your identity, using your IP address and by following your online activity.
How others can find your IP address — and why they want to
For others to find your IP address, it is not as easy as searching “What is [insert name]’s IP address. ” It takes a bit more legwork. But it’s also not as difficult as some might think, considering we leave our digital footprints and, in turn, IP addresses behind online with every click.
Remember, IP addresses are like your membership card to the internet and are required to enter any website and webpage on it. So, every time you click something online it’s like signing a guestbook and your IP address is the signature you leave behind. This includes social media sites, internet forums, chatrooms, and blogs you comment on. All of these platforms can view your IP address.
Also, cybercriminals can find your IP address by hacking into your home network or placing a bug in email HTML.
For a more straightforward approach to find your IP address, others might simply borrow your device and Google “what is my IP address” or inspect the header of an email address. There are also IP lookup services, whereby users can simply copy and paste an IP address into a search bar and discover a person’s geolocation.
Authorities, including, law enforcement or fraud investigators, can also use subpoenas to contact your ISP and get your IP address.
But, why would other people want to know your IP address and what would they do with it?
Is it dangerous for people to know your IP address?
Since an IP address doesn’t outrightly reveal your personal information or confidential data, it’s generally not dangerous for people to know your IP address — but it all depends on who’s trying to access it.
Consider the following parties who might be interested in your IP address and why:
Authorities to piece together illegal activities
Employers to understand where you’re spending time online at work
Advertisers to target you with relevant products and services
Blacklist databases to block access from spammers
Retailers to cross-check your geolocation with your payment method’s mailing address
Chatrooms to block inappropriate users
Subscription services to block users from accessing content unavailable in their area or region
Hackers to install malware on your devices
Cybercriminals to put you at risk of Denial of Service attacks
Criminals who, if they already know your personal information, might call your ISP and commit a vishing attack
You might even want to use an IP address to confirm whether an online friend or virtual love interest resides where they say they do
As with most things in life, people’s intentions vary.
When it comes to others trying to find your IP address, some might have malicious intentions, such as to track you. Others, however, might be watching out for you, such as a well-intentioned bank confirming a transfer request is being submitted by you.
Finally, just because someone knows your IP address does not necessarily mean they will wind up on your doorstep. Still, you might want to take measures to protect your IP address.
How to protect your IP address
The simplest and most straightforward way to protect your IP address is to use a virtual private network (VPN) because this anonymizes your online activity using encryption. It also changes your IP address completely, placing your geolocation hundreds or maybe thousands of miles from where you actually are accessing the internet.
Talk about throwing someone off your digital tail.
The bottom line: IP addresses reveal geolocations and you can prevent this
No, IP addresses are not as sacred as our Social Security numbers, but it’s still worth understanding what an IP address reveals and also how to hide your IP address if you want to.
After all, being informed is a best practice when it comes to protecting our online privacy.
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IP Address Lookup – Lookup IP Location details – What Is My IP?
IP Address Lookup
An IP address lookup determines the location of any IP address. The results provide quite a bit of information, including information the city, state/region, postal/zip code, country name, ISP, and time zone. Consequently, this data is used by various agencies to find the owner of an IPv4 or IPv6 address.
IP Address Location Accuracy
It’s important to understand that no IP Lookup tool is 100% accurate. IP lookup results are shown from several different IP location databases, and each database reports differently.
There are many other factors as to why results are not 100% accurate. Factors include:
Where the IP address was registered
Where the controlling agency is located
Whether the user has a proxy or VPN
Whether the connection is cellular or not
For example, if you are in the US and the controlling agency of the IP is located in Canada, the lookup data may show Canada as the IP location. It is not uncommon to see a Canadian IP while searching an IP address in the northern US.
My IP Info
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IP Address Results
When using an IP address lookup tool, users often think they are going to find the exact location of an IP address. This is simply not true. No IP address database can provide the exact physical address of an IP address location. At best, you’ll get the exact city in which the user of the IP is located.
Only the Internet Service Provider (ISP) can provide an exact physical address of an IP. ISPs usually have logs of which user was assigned an IP at any given time. There are usually limits as to how long an ISP stores these records. However, without a police warrant, or some sort of legal document, the ISP is unlikely to turn over any information.
If you receive an offensive or fraudulent email, don’t expect an ISP to give you the mailing address of the user of that IP address. Instead, turn over the communications to the authorities and let them do their job.
Update Your IP Location
If you find that your IP location information is incorrect, you can always reach out to any of our IP address data providers and update your IP address location.
Conclusion
In conclusion, if someone has sent a harassing or potentially fraudulent communication, the best you can do is to file a complaint with the authorities or the ISP. Then, forward all the relevant information from the questionable communication.
Inside Secrets About IP Address Geolocation
Should you worry about being tracked?
We’re all familiar with the cartoon, “Where’s Waldo? ” As you know, it’s not always easy to find the character in the red and white striped shirt, glasses and ski cap.
Using top-tier geolocation, authorities can track down Waldo the instant he’s online.
It’s about the same with Waldo’s IP address (even if it is fictional). If he sent you an email with a picture of himself buried in a crowd, you might find him in the picture…but how would you know where he’s geographically located?
Impossible, right?
No. Not as impossible as you might think.
Geolocation lookup.
Through a useful Internet tool called IP geolocation lookup, you can track an IP address close to someone’s exact location, if they’re communicating with you through the Internet…and if you want or need to know where they really are.
You can get pretty close, depending on a variety of factors, to finding the physical location of someone’s IP address (if you can capture it).
Need proof? Let’s see where you are, in real time, right now.
Where are you?
Go to our IP Lookup (which is an IP location finder or tracker) to see where you show up on the map. If you allow your browser to update your location (when it asks you) the geolocation accuracy gets even better.
You can get a good idea of the where someone is emailing you from using a geolocation tool, like the one right on our site (see IP Lookup). And that, for the most part, should be good enough. It will not give you anyone’s name and address, but it’s not supposed to. That would be a violation of their privacy… and a little too creepy.
But you’d be surprised at how close geolocation can sometimes “zoom in” on you.
Zeroing In
When you came to the website, you saw that your IP address was conveniently displayed on the home page. And you also saw—maybe surprisingly—that other information was displayed, such as your:
Country
Region
City
ZIP code
Longitude and latitude
Whoa! Where did that come from?
It came from the IP address geolocation service used to look at the IP address of wherever you were when you visited our site.
“Based on his IP address, we know
he’s within 2 miles. ”
The IP address you saw could be your home computer’s IP address, or the one at the local coffee shop or airport. It all depends on where you are.
Are you feeling creeped out? You don’t have to be.
Learning more about the Internet
You can also look at this as a way to get educated on the power of the Internet and the tools that you (and others) can use to keep safe. (Read our section on Change IP Address and Hide IP Address. ) After all, your name, street address, nickname or favorite color were not revealed. Chances are, your location was, at best, some five or six miles away from your home.
And does anybody care where you are? No, not unless you’re Waldo.
Still, even when not pinpoint accurate, geolocation usually puts a computer user in a nearby town or area, which may be good enough for the person who wants to know where the curious email they received was actually sent from. Check out Trace Email.
Super geolocation accuracy drills down to your Zip Code, and sometimes even down to your kitchen window.
And that person might be you. In other words, you may want to find the IP address of someone who emails you, run it through a high accuracy geolocation service and get closer to zeroing on their location. Maybe not the exact location of their IP address, but with great accuracy.
And that means you can locate Waldo and even direct him to the nearest mall to get a new shirt.
Get hidden now. »» I want to hide my IP
How Geolocation Works
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