Location privacy: what stays in your browser

The estimate when you arrive

When you open a location tool, your browser asks this site’s own server for the approximate city, region, country, coordinates, time zone and IP address associated with your connection. Cloudflare supplies those details when available. If they are missing, the page asks you to choose a location instead.

The reply is private and is not cached. This site’s web server has request logging disabled and does not save the reply. The estimate remains in this open tab; it is not written to cookies or browser storage. Cloudflare and the hosting network still handle your connection under their own policies. A VPN may cause the estimate to show its exit location.

Device location and points you enter

Device location is requested only after you choose to use your device location and allow your browser’s permission request. Actual accuracy depends on your device; its accuracy radius is shown. Denying permission does not trigger an outside IP lookup.

Selected coordinates and city searches stay in memory in this tab. They are not stored in cookies or a saved location history. Links that carry a point between tools on this site put the coordinates in the fragment of the page address (the part after #). A fragment is not sent to our server. If you choose to share that full page address, anyone receiving it can see those coordinates. Reloading a link containing a point selects that point again; otherwise, reloading requests a new network estimate. Clear removes the selected point from the current view, tab memory and page fragment.

Geographic boundaries load from this site. Requests for local map areas can reveal a broad area to the hosting network. City search and beach ranking run in your browser. No outside map tiles load automatically.

When a point leaves this site

On the elevation page, choosing device location also requests ground elevation from USGS, as stated beside the location button. On other pages, USGS receives a point only after you choose its elevation or profile button. USGS receives the selected coordinates and connection information and may keep request records. These requests have no cookies or referrer from this site.

On the weather page, choosing your location or a point sends it, rounded to two decimal places (about 1 km), to MET Norway’s weather service and, for a point in the United States, to the National Weather Service, as stated beside the location button. The approximate location from your connection is sent only if you tap “Show the weather here.” Both services receive the rounded coordinates and connection information; MET Norway says it logs the IP address and coordinates of each request. These requests carry no cookies or referrer from this site.

Opening a street map sends the displayed coordinate to that map provider. Park and beach directions links send the destination point; the provider may ask you for a starting location. Copy and share actions happen only when you choose them. Shared text can contain your selected coordinates; the IP address is not included. Sharing a point includes a link to that point on this site. Opening a separate street-map link sends its coordinates to OpenStreetMap.

Theme and optional offline files

A theme preference is saved on this device. If you choose Save this area offline, public page, font and geographic files are also saved in the browser cache for one week. The selected coordinates, network estimate and IP reply are never cached. The saved geography can reveal the broad area you chose; Remove saved area deletes it. No location history or list of recent points is stored.

Visits and tool use

On the public site, Plausible and Google Analytics receive page views and a limited set of tool actions, such as a completed lookup or a copy action. These services receive connection information as part of the request. We send the page’s public address without a query or fragment; we do not send selected coordinates, city searches, addresses or the displayed IP as event properties.

Local previews do not load either analytics service.

Plausible counts every visit without cookies. It may receive browser and device information and a referring page.

Google Analytics is run by Google, which receives the page address, the actions we measure on this site and browser and device information, and sets cookies that tell repeat visits apart. Its advertising features are off.

In the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, the United Kingdom and Switzerland, and whenever we cannot tell which country a visit comes from, Google Analytics loads only after you choose Accept on the bar at the bottom of the page. Decline loads nothing from Google. Your choice is kept in this browser for six months, then the bar asks again.

Elsewhere, Google Analytics loads with each page unless you choose Decline. Cloudflare, which delivers our pages, tells your browser which country the visit comes from.

Wherever you are, Cookie choices at the bottom of any page, or the button below, changes your choice. Decline stops Google Analytics on this site in this browser and deletes its analytics cookies. If analytics was running, the page reloads to apply your choice. Decline holds on every page; outside the countries above it is kept until you change it.

Cookie choices

Messages

The contact form sends your report to our contact inbox at Cloudflare: the reason you choose, your name if you give one, your reply address, the summary, the details and any page or source link you add. Cloudflare runs an automatic security check that never asks you to solve anything, and it sees your IP address and browser information while doing so. To stop repeat sending, we keep a scrambled form of your IP address and reply address for two hours, never the addresses themselves.

We keep each report for 12 months, then it is deleted automatically, and a copy goes to a private Discord channel our team reads. We use your reply address only to answer you. To see or delete a report you sent, ask through the same form and we will delete both copies.

The location this site estimated for you is never attached to a report. Do not send a home address, current position or other private location in a correction.