How does my browser know where I live ?

LinW13

Hi All,


If I go into Internet Explorer OR Google Chrome and type "Where Am I", a map comes up showing the name of my home town.


I could understand if it came up with the location of my ISP, which is NOT in my home town.


So, how does it know? Where is it held?


I use ccleaner daily, so please don't tell me to clear my caches.


I've got Windows 7 64-bit, IE 11 and my default home page is DuckDuck.


Anybody know anything about this?


Regards,
Lin

dipsomaniac

just tried mine and its wrong - 4 doors out. not sure how it does it but just a thought, is phone running any microsoft or google products with location switched on?

my ip location is showing as california not even in uk. confused

forgotmyname

Because when the Google cars went around taking pictures of everything they also snapped up stray wifi signals.

And as above anything Google on your phone and it knows where you are to within a few metres even with the GPS off.

Ive had a message pop up asking to leave a review of a place i drove past. Got stuck in traffic outside and it assumed i have been inside the venue.

dipsomaniac

just googled it and appears they calculate your location from the wifi signals your router can see. some trianglelation going on from the wifi info that google hoovers up when driving around in their google maps streetcar

Spelunthus

Google finds your location by getting your Web browser to deliver location information based on the Wi-Fi access points around you. If there aren't enough Wi-Fi points to get a fix on your location, Google can also make an estimate based on you IP address -- although that guess can often be wildly inaccurate.

LinW13

Thanks Dipso. I wish I knew when this started happening. I used to see my ISP location in the Google Shopping section, but now it is my home town. My mobile is a low tech candy bar which could not find its own backside with both hands, but a friend with a iPad Air has recently used my internet connection. I wonder if anything is stored in my router...

suki1964

I just tried it, and I can't be found

Says to turn on my gps on my mobile

LinW13

Thanks Forget, Spel and Dipso.


Durn. A couple of observations.


I connect to my router by cable as my PC definitely does not have wi-fi. So are you saying that Google gets my browser to interrogate my router?


Second, my browser is IE with Google add-ons disabled, and my home page is DuckDuck. So how does Google get involved in that setup?


In the end, it will probably be easier for me to take anti-paranoia medicine.


Lin

wongataa

Your IP address has a location. That is how websites guess where you are. Nothing to do with Google or your router. If your internet is routed through different countries automatic location is annoying as it is very wrong (like I experience at work).

Gloomendoom

You IP address gives you away. It has nothing to do with WiFi or Google cars.

http://www.ip2location.com/

DoaM

Gloomendoom wrote: »

You IP address gives you away. It has nothing to do with WiFi or Google cars.

http://www.ip2location.com/

Apparently whilst sitting here at my desk in Scotland, I'm actually in New Jersey, USA.

(You might want to rethink your claim).