Can location be determined from IP address?

[strawberryjeans]

Just that really

I’m wondering if there were ever a data leak, on here, for example, could location be at risk of being shared? Do MNHQ have access to location info from the IP address? I understand general location like county or even city but didn’t know if it was any more specific than that.

No, at best you can narrow it down to a region or city

Depends on your ISP I think. I haven't looked at the hostname mine resolves to recently but you used to be able to tell which area of the city I lived in from it.
If police were involved I would assume they would be able to get the information from your ISP of which customer's house had a specific IP at the time. Now with broadband being always on it won't change very often anyway.
If you're connected through a VPN then mumsnet won't see your home IP.

My understanding is it can narrow down to city/area

Basically, type in "what is my IP address" into google (or type in ipconfig into your command prompt) to find your ip address...

Then go to a site like 'maxmind' to see what that ip address shows

I always thought that they can trace orders/subscribtions from the IP address and then the Police can request the exact address. That is how they get a search warrant and sieze all equipment. I don't think that hackers could.

Mine always puts me about 50 miles away. Not sure if they vary.

Op why do you want to know this ? Do you have a specific concern? Ive never been aware of a hack where ppls ip addresses (i could be wrong of course) have been stolen and just wondering even if this was stolen what would happen ? I think hackers are more concerned at our personal details rather then our ip address...

Ipconfig doesn't show the IP address that is used when you connect to the Internet, just the ip address of your device on your private network.

Your IP address can be traced to your exact location but there are strict conditions that allow this to happen. Your ISP would likely be involved in supplying this information as they allocate the public address you use to connect to the Internet.

Hackers don't necessarily use or need your IP address. The more useful information in a data leak from somewhere like MN would be emails and passwords, especially if they are used multiple places. The level of encryption used would determine how easy that info would be to decrypt too.

Genuinely curious! Saw a cookies pop up which said IP address is stored

I was wondering this. In relation to a work issue. Someone working from home was recently disciplined for being abroad and working. I was wondering how they were found out, and if it was down to IP address location.

Mine shows me as Argentina. I am not 😂 I thought everyone used VPNs these days. I mean still technically traceable eventually but takes more effort.

i too use a VPN so my IP address can be in several different countries! I connect to different countries depending on what I’m doing work wise and also to watch different streaming services.

Even when not using one in the Uk it depends on your internet provider. My old one used to show me as in the london area though I lived up north.

😮😯😲 what was their issue with this ? Is this in case the Internet isn't secure and they are file sharing ?

Often it can idicate within a 2 mile radius other time it can be about 10 miles out

Indeed - why pay OTT prices when our friends across the water are getting stuff at 25% of what we pay in England

It's complicated.

Firstly many people use a VPN (virtual private network) which hides it.

Secondly most internet service providers have a range of IPs which they allocate dynamically so yours changes. So the best someone could do without talking to the isp is to know that you are coming from that isp.

Some people pay for and have a static (doesn't change) IP address. This is very easily traceable.

BTW - if there is a serious breach of law, then the police via courts can seek exact address from your ISP - even lawyers can obtain details in England as someone slagged of a well known company and they found out who it was

@Carebears100 Depending on how long they were there, could be employment legality issues, tax issues.

Some workplaces expect you to be able to attend the office in case of emergency, can't do that if you're abroad. Some software licenses are only allowed to be used in your home country too so could get your workplace a big fine.

Interesting to I tried what @C1N1C suggested and mine shows as a town that’s a 25min drive away so nowhere near as accurate as I thought. I thought it would have been a bit like find my iPhone and be in the correct vicinity!

Internet Service Providers (ISP) buy IP addresses in blocks and those blocks are allocated to the equipment in their datacentres. When you go online, your traffic is routed through a particular data centre which is why the general city location of where you are connected can be determined. This is as detailed as the likes of MNHQ can see however...
Each ISP does (and is required to) keep a log of which user/customer has used each IP address and the authorities can demand that information from the ISP. ISPs can also keep more detailed information depending on the traffic type (web, email, streaming) which is also available to the authorities (with a court order). This is why people use VPNs in addition to their usual connection.

If you're genuinely worried about a cookie popup then use Tor browser instead. Will take longer to load pages but any IP address stored at the end connection won't be yours.

Incorrect, it is linked to the device used and its exact location! It's how many crimes are solved

OP I know very little about IT but I think they can. I put a post on here before about an employer and they linked me to it and fired me the next day. They were very tech savvy and I always thought they checked my location somehow by my post. Maybe I’m paranoid.

No idea tbh. It's in the 'rules' when we sign up to work from home. Work for big Bank. Always assumed its justt because of internet security abroad? But not being IT savvy, not sure.