Can the “IP location” disclosed by major platforms accurately tell you where you are?

Weibo and other online platforms have displayed users' IP addresses, sparking heated discussions. Where do IP addresses come from? Will it leak privacy? Is IP address reliable?

Compiled by New Media Editor Fang Yongzhen

When you browse Weibo, watch videos, and read articles online recently, you should have noticed that most self-media accounts have a "small tail" behind them, showing a place name. That's right, this is the "IP location" function that major platforms have launched recently, and users cannot turn off the display on their own.

The emergence of this feature has directly made some "keyboard warriors" shrink their hands, and also exposed some accounts claiming to be overseas. However, many people have doubts about this feature, and some people are worried about whether it will leak privacy and leave security risks. Don't worry, let's discuss these issues below.

▲The TikTok account "×× in Japan" shows that the IP location is Henan (picture from the Internet)

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What is IP location?

First of all, we need to understand what IP is. IP is the abbreviation of Internet Protocol. When we say IP now, we are actually referring to the abbreviation of "IP address". IP address is the Internet Protocol address. Simply put, it is a concept on the Internet, representing the network address of a device.

IP is also divided into public network and intranet. The so-called public network IP is the unique identification that everyone can locate directly based on the IP in the world's largest network system - the Internet. The intranet IP refers to the unique identification within a local area network (such as a school, company, etc.).

Not every device has a public IP address, because it is a scarce resource. Currently, the most widely used protocol is IPV4, which can provide up to 4.29 billion IP addresses. After so many years, it is becoming increasingly insufficient. IPV6 is still gaining popularity.

▲When you search Baidu for an IP address, the public IP and operator are displayed here (picture from the screenshot)

How are these IP addresses allocated? Public IPs are allocated by network operators, such as China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom, etc. Intranet IPs can be allocated by the administrator of the local area network (or a dynamic allocation rule can be set). When we are in school, we use our mobile phones to connect to the school's WIFI, and then we will be allocated an intranet IP for our mobile phones. Computers on the Internet can be determined by public IP + intranet IP.

Then, IP location is not difficult to understand. Based on the fact that when we use the Internet, all Internet devices will be assigned an IP address. No matter what kind of IP address it is, it has a location, that is, IP location.

Niu Kai, a professor at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, told the media that IP location is actually the geographical location information of the place where the data packet is generated. If it is sent by a desktop or laptop computer, it is the location of these devices; if it is sent by a mobile phone, it is the location information of the mobile phone. In the equipment on the operator's network side, this IP location information always exists and can be easily extracted. It is now just displayed on the social networking platform.

▲Every Internet-connected device can find its public IP address (Image source: Leifeng.com)

Can IP location reflect the user's location? Experts said that displaying IP location belongs to the core communication network technology, which is mainly based on DNS server (Domain Name System or Domain Name Service). It extracts IP address when resolving domain name. This technology is very mature. For a long time, displaying IP location has not been promoted and applied in social networks in my country, but it has been widely used in many social networking platforms abroad.

Currently, the methods used by various platforms to determine IP location are basically the same. Sina Weibo determines the region based on the IP location of the user's recent Weibo posts, comments, and votes; Douyin and Toutiao determine based on the IP address of the user's most recent post or comment.

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Does it leak privacy and leave security risks?

Many users are worried about whether the platform's display of users' "IP location" will infringe on their privacy? In fact, considering privacy protection, when displaying the province (municipalities, autonomous regions, special administrative regions) within the country and the country (region) outside the country, no more specific geographic location information will be displayed.

▲IP location will not display specific geographic location information (Image source: Computer News)

Moreover, the concepts and extensions of user "IP location" and "IP address" are different. In China, the former refers to the location of the user's IP, that is, the province to which the IP operator belongs, involving a huge number of users, ranging from millions to tens of millions, and up to nearly 100 million; the latter is the corresponding user device terminal, which is exclusively owned by an individual. If the complete IP address is displayed, the user's specific location can be found through technical means, which will lead to privacy violations.

Regarding this issue, Wu Shenkuo, assistant dean of the Internet Development Research Institute of Beijing Normal University and deputy director of the Research Center of the Internet Society of China, said in an interview with the media that two points should be considered: first, the granularity of IP location information is not enough to directly push to a specific individual identity through a province, and the recognition rate is still relatively weak. Second, IP location information refers to the location of the network access device rather than the location of the person.

Therefore, under normal circumstances, there is no need to worry that displaying the user's "IP location" will leak personal privacy.

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Can the IP address be changed? Yes, but with risks

In fact, the function of displaying IP location is also easy to circumvent. In theory, you can display IPs from anywhere by using a proxy server. This has also led to the emergence of a "black and gray" industry of paid IP proxies, with information such as "changes can be made for as little as 6 yuan" and "6-8 yuan to get the IP location you want" appearing on the Internet.

▲Some "fake IP location" gray transactions appeared online (Photo source: e-commerce platform)

The criminals change their IP addresses based on dynamic IP proxy services, which are Internet access services that can change the login IP addresses in different regions of the country. Experts explain that the so-called dynamic IP proxy service actually provides a temporary server and uses the server's IP instead of the real IP for data interaction.

In fact, the principle is very simple, that is, the visitor does not use his original address to access the Internet, but accesses the proxy server to access the Internet, so as to transfer the things downloaded from the Internet back. This is equivalent to using the server to build a bridge in the middle, and it displays the address of the proxy server. "The VPN (virtual private network) commonly used by people is the most common proxy method.

"In many cases, normal network communications also require proxy servers. The organizational structure of the Internet allows for proxies, so from a technical point of view, IP proxies cannot be completely banned," Niu Kai said. The only way is to take dual measures of technical monitoring and administrative supervision to strengthen supervision of proxy service providers, monitor network communication data traffic, and investigate and punish illegal IP proxy activities.

Experts also remind people to be wary of the risks of IP proxy. If some of the behaviors of the proxy IP are identified by the network platform, there is a risk of being blocked. In addition, if the IP proxy is unreliable, fraud and theft of financial accounts, privacy leaks and other problems may occur.

Although it is very easy to modify IP location information, it is of great significance for social platforms to display IP location information. There is no doubt that modifying IP location information requires a certain cost, and not everyone is willing to change it.

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Why should we display IP location?

As early as March this year, the self-media platform Weibo announced that in order to reduce bad behaviors such as impersonating parties involved in hot events, malicious rumors, and traffic grabbing, a new function that can publicly display users' "IP location" will be launched. Recently, major platforms such as Douyin, Toutiao, and WeChat have given similar reasons in their announcements on displaying IP locations.

In the digital age, there are many online platforms and everyone has a microphone. Whenever there is a hot news event at home or abroad, there are many voices in the online public opinion field, and everyone is like a "press spokesperson". However, there is no need to deny that there are many people who are afraid that public opinion will not be chaotic. They may fish in troubled waters to get traffic, or have ulterior motives to lead the rhythm, or make up rumors out of thin air, or have ulterior motives to engage in "regional black"... All these things seriously disrupt the order of online information dissemination.

In order to purify cyberspace and maintain order in online speech, relevant state departments have introduced a series of measures, including the real-name system. On this basis, in 2021, the Cyberspace Administration of China issued the "Regulations on the Management of Internet User Account Name Information (Draft for Comments)", Article 12 of which clearly states that Internet user account service platforms should display account IP address location information on the Internet user account information page in a prominent manner. The location information of the IP address of domestic Internet user accounts must be marked to the province (autonomous region, municipality), and the location information of the IP address of overseas accounts must be marked to the country (region).

The launch of a new feature on major platforms to display users' "IP location" is obviously a response. Facts have proved that the feature has played a significant role after its launch. Objectively speaking, although all real names are used in the background, in the past, anonymous information, such as cyber violence, was difficult for ordinary netizens to verify, and some unscrupulous keyboard warriors appeared. Displaying IP addresses will have a deterrent effect on such users.

The modern Internet has undergone a fundamental transformation compared to the previous Internet. In the early days, the Internet was a virtual world, serving more as an entertainment attribute. However, with the support of e-commerce platforms, electronic payments, and e-government, the Internet has developed into a part of social life and an infrastructure. Just like the saying we often hear, "The Internet is not a lawless place", it is a general trend to maintain network order through various measures and means.

(The content of this article is compiled from China National Radio, Voice of China, Rednet, etc.)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

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