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Being Spyed On Everywhere

In 2017, I traveled around Europe and discovered just how much websites spy on you and follow your locations. I assumed with location services turned off, and having a firewall up - that I might have privacy on my own laptop and devices. I am thoroughly dismayed and sick to DEATH of having my IP address read, EVERYWHERE by anyone! How did this become the norm? And disagree, you cannot access their site?


How does someone protect their privacy in this day and age? Besides spending money on VPN's? I just don't understand what happened that opened us up that gave anyone the right to spy on us and read our IP addresses to know where we are? I'd love to have a discussion about this. I know it has been already, over and over. But I am an Apple lady, and love to hear what the Apple Community has to say. No, I don't even use Siri!


Thanks all!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.1.x)

Posted on Mar 2, 2018 11:34 AM

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Posted on May 25, 2018 12:30 PM

I believe it is a bit more like using a line telephone everywhere you go. When you connect to the Internet you will get a different IP from each location. The IP has different components and this information can be used to track your location just as I can tell where a call I receive is originating if I am familiar with area codes (easy to look up on the Internet). The IPs really just resolve to domain names and this information is publicly available to various degrees. My internet service provider is registered in a neighboring city and site will often know that my IP is part of my particular ISP so they will think I am in that city. Others can track me more closely and I am guessing they may have access to more specific information with the service provider that lets them track me to my particular city just the way that I know the first 3 digits of a 7 digit phone number used to be distributed to people in a particular area of my city. So if I see XXX-YYYZZZZ I can often tell from XXX that that person is in my area code and YYY that they live in my neighborhood or the neighborhood where my veterinarian is located. That's just the way it is with technology unless you use a VPN where all your connections are routed through a different location and the web sites only know the IP for that server wherever it is.


The other way they may pick up on your location is if you have been using services to search for something else. Google then might store, "Hey, that IP just searched for a coffee shop in Athens". You can request places don't track you, and you can block certain trackers with utilities such as Ghostery and PrivacyBadger, but it's not 100% effective.


Welcome to the 21st century.

4 replies
Question marked as Best reply

May 25, 2018 12:30 PM in response to hedykay

I believe it is a bit more like using a line telephone everywhere you go. When you connect to the Internet you will get a different IP from each location. The IP has different components and this information can be used to track your location just as I can tell where a call I receive is originating if I am familiar with area codes (easy to look up on the Internet). The IPs really just resolve to domain names and this information is publicly available to various degrees. My internet service provider is registered in a neighboring city and site will often know that my IP is part of my particular ISP so they will think I am in that city. Others can track me more closely and I am guessing they may have access to more specific information with the service provider that lets them track me to my particular city just the way that I know the first 3 digits of a 7 digit phone number used to be distributed to people in a particular area of my city. So if I see XXX-YYYZZZZ I can often tell from XXX that that person is in my area code and YYY that they live in my neighborhood or the neighborhood where my veterinarian is located. That's just the way it is with technology unless you use a VPN where all your connections are routed through a different location and the web sites only know the IP for that server wherever it is.


The other way they may pick up on your location is if you have been using services to search for something else. Google then might store, "Hey, that IP just searched for a coffee shop in Athens". You can request places don't track you, and you can block certain trackers with utilities such as Ghostery and PrivacyBadger, but it's not 100% effective.


Welcome to the 21st century.

Mar 2, 2018 11:46 AM in response to hedykay

It sounds as if you don't quite understand what an IP address is and how it's used. At the simplest, it's your device's address on the internet. And, just like people need to know your physical address to send you things, the internet needs to know your IP address to send data. This is not necessarily any kind of threat to privacy.


See this article for a better explanation than I can give:

What Is an IP Address & Why Does Everything Need One?


What makes you think you're being spied on?

Mar 3, 2018 8:17 AM in response to IdrisSeabright

Really? No, I am very clear what an IP address is and how it is used. I am unclear why you would ask 'why do you think you are being spied on'? If I go on vacation or travel, I do not feel every site I go on to say, "Hey - looks like you are in Athens, Greece..." I know where I am. It is UNNECESSARY unless I NEED them to know where I am. Regardless.


I guess I was wrong to post here if this is my first reply.

Being Spyed On Everywhere

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