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Wow...I basically never let webpages use my location, but I did for this one, and it landed about 200 feet from my apartment. That's crazy accurate! How can an IP be linked to a geolocation that closely?


Are you using Chrome? It’s probably not geo IP.


Yeah, geo ip doesn't need permission to work (modulo privacy), that will all be done server side.


Okay, so then how does a website know my location to 200 feet?


If you grant location access there is a fast/low accuracy response, and the site can request a slow/high accuracy response which would be your exact GPS location, potentially down to the meter.

https://www.andygup.net/how-accurate-is-html5-geolocation-re...


I'm on a desktop though - no GPS/wifi.


If you're using Chrome, Google knows your location through your phone (and Google Maps, if you're on an iPhone)

If you're on mac and have an iPhone, same thing is happening across the whole OS.

Available WiFis, even if you're not connected to one, will be used by your OS to provide location as well.

This uses the basic Geolocation API, you can look up how your computer figures out its location for more detailed info.


https://outflux.net/blog/archives/2010/01/24/google-is-wardr...

If you don't have Wifi on, maybe you had it before, and Google saved your location based on it?




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