Understanding Your Lookup Results

6 min read•Published Sep 2, 2025

Learn how to interpret ISP data, location accuracy, security flags, and other information from IP lookups.

What You'll See in Results

An IP lookup returns location, network, and security context for an address. Knowing what each field means helps you judge reliability and spot when something is masked or approximate.

At a glance

Location
  • • Country, Region/State, City
  • • Coordinates (approximate)
  • • Timezone
Network
  • • ISP and Organization
  • • Connection type, ASN
  • • Security & anonymity flags

Location Information

These fields point to where the IP is registered or routed. Treat city and coordinates as approximate.

Country

Very High

Where the IP block is registered. Very reliable.

Example: Germany

Region/State

High

Administrative region. Usually reliable.

Example: Bavaria

City

Moderate

Often the ISP’s hub or nearest city, not a street address.

Example: Munich

Coordinates

Low Precision

Approximate centroid of the service area.

Example: 48.137, 11.575

Timezone

High

Derived from location. Helpful to sanity‑check results.

Example: Europe/Berlin

ISP and Organization Data

Shows who operates the network and who owns the IP block. These may differ.

ISP

Company that provides internet access for this connection.

Examples: Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone, Comcast

Organization

Entity that owns the IP range (can be a company or cloud provider).

Examples: Google LLC, AWS, Microsoft
  • Residential users: ISP and organization often match.
  • Businesses: Organization shows company; ISP may still be a carrier.
  • Cloud/hosting: Organization is a hosting provider; indicates a server IP.

Connection Type Details

How this IP reaches the internet affects location reliability.

Broadband

Cable/DSL/Fiber. Often most accurate.

Typical users: Homes and offices
Location: City usually close

Cellular

Mobile networks. Can resolve to tower/region.

Typical users: Phones, hotspots
Location: City may drift

Satellite

Beamed via satellite; ground station visible.

Typical users: Remote areas, maritime
Location: Often off by hundreds of km

Corporate

Enterprise networks; NATed egress.

Typical users: Companies, universities
Location: HQ may appear

Security and Anonymity Flags

Flags help you understand whether the IP reflects a real user or a masked/hosted context.

VPN detected

Likely a privacy/VPN service egress.

Proxy detected

Traffic routed via proxy; could be corporate or privacy‑focused.

Tor exit node

Tor network egress; strongest anonymity.

Hosting provider

Cloud or hosting IP; usually a server.

Threat activity

Reported abuse or risky behavior.

Learn more about VPN and proxy detection →

Understanding Accuracy

Signals of higher confidence

  • • Broadband connection
  • • Recognizable residential ISP
  • • No VPN/proxy/Tor flags
  • • Residential ASN range
  • • Timezone matches region

Signals of lower confidence

  • • Cellular or satellite connection
  • • Corporate or hosting ASN
  • • Active VPN/proxy/Tor
  • • Generic data‑center city (e.g., Ashburn)

Common Result Scenarios

Home internet

High
Vodafone, Broadband, no flags

Usually close to the user’s city.

Mobile device

Moderate
Telekom, Cellular, no flags

May resolve to tower/region rather than exact city.

Corporate network

Low for user location
Company ASN, Corporate

Often shows HQ or central egress.

VPN user

Masked
Commercial VPN, VPN flag

Shows VPN server city, not the user.

Cloud server

Accurate for server
AWS/GCP/Azure, Hosting flag

Data center location for a server.

When Results Seem Wrong

IP data reflects networks, not people. If a result looks off, consider routing, privacy tools, and outdated allocations.

Likely causes

  • ISP routing: Traffic exits from a different city.
  • Corporate egress: Shows HQ or shared gateway.
  • Mobile tower: Points to tower or regional hub.
  • Database lag: Allocations changed recently.
  • Privacy tools: VPN, proxy, or Tor in use.
  1. Check flags (VPN/proxy/Tor) and connection type.
  2. Compare timezone and ISP with expectations.
  3. Treat city/coords as approximate, not exact.
  4. Re‑check later; assignments can move.

Key Takeaways

Remember these points:

  • Country is highly reliable; city and coordinates are approximate.
  • ISP and organization hint at whether it's residential, corporate, or hosting.
  • Connection type (cellular, satellite, corporate) reduces location precision.
  • VPN/proxy/Tor flags indicate masked or non-residential usage.
  • Use multiple fields together before drawing conclusions.

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