How IP Geolocation Works and Its Privacy Implications

Recent social platforms have started displaying users' IP‑derived location information by default, raising concerns about privacy and prompting users to prove their overseas status through live streams or videos.

This article explores the technical mechanisms behind IP geolocation.

How can an IP address be used to find a physical location?

Although an IP address does not directly encode geographic coordinates, it can be mapped to a location through the structure of the Internet.

The key is the Autonomous System (AS) , a large network that connects to the global Internet and is identified by a unique Autonomous System Number (ASN).

The Internet consists of many interconnected networks; each AS controls a specific block of IP addresses, similar to how a post office handles mail for a particular town.

Thus, the mapping follows the logical chain:

IP address → address block → ASN → organization → country

For example, an IP belonging to ASN AS4xxx is associated with China Telecom and can be located roughly in Shenzhen, China.

While an ASN can pinpoint a city‑level or district‑level area, precise addresses require additional data from the ISP, which is typically accessible only to law‑enforcement with proper authorization.

Police can request ISP records to identify the exact subscriber of an IP address, but such queries are restricted to legitimate investigations.

IP Address Privacy Issues

In the era of big data, many applications (e.g., Baidu Maps) collect IP‑to‑location mappings and can reverse‑lookup an IP to a location with accuracy of a few hundred meters.

International companies like Google also perform similar mappings, though they often provide clearer disclosures and user controls.

Using a VPN does not fully hide one’s location because nearby devices (Wi‑Fi, Bluetooth) can betray the user’s approximate area, allowing services to infer the real location.

When apps request permission to scan local network devices, users should decline unless the feature is essential, as such scans can harvest IP addresses, IMEI numbers, Wi‑Fi identifiers, and other data for targeted advertising.

Scanning local devices primarily facilitates cross‑platform advertising, but it raises significant privacy concerns for users.

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