How the lookup works
We check the address against a public IP geolocation database and against two open lists: the Tor Project exit list and the published address ranges of cloud and hosting providers. Nothing is sent to the address itself, so the owner of the address never sees the lookup.
The result combines three things: where the address is registered, which autonomous system (ASN) announces it, and a small set of risk flags with the reason each one fired.
Reading the result
Location is approximate. It tells you the country and often the region or city where the address block is registered or routed, not the street where a person sits. Mobile and corporate networks are routinely located far from their users.
The ASN and organization name the network that announces the address, which is usually an internet provider, a company or a cloud platform. A hosting flag means the address belongs to a published data center range, which is common for servers, bots and VPN endpoints but not for ordinary home connections.
The result covers location, network owner, and flags for Tor exit nodes and cloud hosting ranges, which are the signals that separate ordinary visitors from automated traffic.
Limits worth knowing
Geolocation data is a best estimate and can be wrong or out of date for a given address. Use it to sort traffic into broad groups, not to identify a person or a building.
The free tool answers one address at a time and has a strict per-visitor limit. The API runs the same lookup for your own systems, with a key and no visitor limit.
Frequently asked questions
How accurate is the location?
Country is usually reliable. Region and city are estimates and miss often, especially for mobile networks, corporate networks and addresses that move between locations. Treat anything below country level as a hint.
Can this tell me if an address is a VPN?
No. The result flags Tor exit nodes and published cloud and hosting ranges only. VPN status is left empty because we have no VPN data source we may use.
Does the lookup contact the IP address?
No. The answer comes from reference databases and lists, so the address owner is never pinged or notified.
Does it work for IPv6?
Yes. Enter an IPv6 address in its normal form, such as 2001:4860:4860::8888. Leave out any port number or network mask.