Field notes
What an IP address can tell you
A useful clue about a network. Not a pin on someone’s front door.
An address for a connection
When your device connects to a website, the connection has a source IP address. At home, several devices may share a public address through a router. On a mobile network, even unrelated subscribers may share an internet gateway. The address shown on this site is the source of the connection that reaches our server.
How a location is estimated
Geolocation databases associate address ranges with countries, regions and sometimes cities. They combine network registration information and other observations. A result is an estimate about a network allocation, and its accuracy varies by provider, region and update date. Kuddit uses the DB-IP Lite dataset and displays the dataset month with lookup results.
Why the city can be wrong
Your internet provider may route traffic through a gateway in another city. A VPN or proxy shows the exit server’s network. Mobile and satellite connections can cover large areas. A map point is therefore a visual reference, not proof of where a device or a person is located.
Reading the network information
An autonomous system number, or ASN, identifies a network that announces its own routing policy. The organization in an IP lookup may be an internet provider, hosting company or a larger network operator. It is not necessarily the company that runs a website on that address. For a domain, compare its DNS records and registration information for additional context.