IP tracking is used on every website you visit on the internet, but what is it, why is it used, and what can people find out about you using your IP address?
There have ben a lot of rumors going around SL lately that are not based in fact and are being used to spread a lot of fear, so hopefully this article helps you better understand the role of IP.
Someone Has My IP Address – Should I be Scared?
This is a common question and Leo explains this very well. The short answer is No.
What Can an IP Address Tell Someone About Me?
The following videos are really useful to answer this question.
In short, an IP address is just a number.
If someone is really determined, they can find out what basic geographic area you are in (sometimes) based on what ISP company owns that IP address.
Even if an IP address was narrowed down to the tiny town I grew up in (population 349), they would not know which of the 349 people in the town I was. Most of us live in areas with a lot more than 349 people!
IP addresses are only useful to bad people when you have other information too. If I know that this person is “Amanda” in the town of 349, that would narrow it down more. There might only be 5 of us. 😂 But, again, that is a very specific example. There are a LOT more Amandas in most cities.
For this reason, it matters more that you don’t give your real name or other personally identifiable information out on the internet. Your name can be used with an IP Address to start to narrow things down, but without a real life name or other type of information, an IP address doesn’t tell bad people anything useful.
Why Do Companies Track IP Addresses?
Basically every website you visit on the internet tracks IP addresses. There are a few exceptions, but those are extremely rare. 43% of the internet is built using WordPress, and WordPress defaults to tracking IP addresses for the same security reasons that all sites do.
If a hacker tries to hack a site, spam, or do any other nefarious stuff, the fact that we have a record of their IP address means we can block the IP so they cannot access our website anymore. There are ways for hackers to get around that, but it will slow down some of the more basic attacks. With Potted, this kind of security tracking is the ONLY IP tracking we do.
We have had people try to hack our game. IP tracking helped us identify and ban the hackers.
Service providers can ban or blocklist your IP… They might also blocklist your individual IP address if they disapprove of your actions or suspect you violated some rules.
NordVPN
Other reasons that other companies track IPs include tailoring personalized ads and analytics, like seeing if repeat visitors tend to go to certain pages. Those are mixed, because while I may be happy that a website is optimized for the most frequently used pages to be easily accessible, personalized ads are a nuisance. However, this type of tracking is not being employed by Potted.
Potted does not serve ads and we do not do any kind of personal tracking of website interactions.
We only save IP addresses to manage hackers, like any other game on the internet does.
We do link your IP address to your username when you file a ticket, just like any other web portal for any other game. Again, this is only used to stop hackers.
Is My IP Address Tracked in SL?
Linden Labs tracks IP addresses.
If you spend money in SL, Tilia is also tracking your IP address.
Potted does not track IP addresses inside of Second Life. Linden Labs does not make that accessible to anyone outside of their organization.
The only way to track an IP within Second Life would be through a media stream. We do not use that tactic, but here is an article about it from ZoHa Islands, “Can anyone get your IP address from SL?”, explaining how it works, so you can protect your privacy if this is a concern for you.
Where Can I Learn More About IP Addresses?
The following websites have helpful information about IP addresses. Articles from VPN services and similar providers may have a bit scarier messaging so they can sell you their services, but the actual information is correct.
IP addresses and the GDPR. DBS Interactive. (2021, July 21). https://www.dbswebsite.com/blog/ip-addresses-gdpr/
What can someone do with my IP address?. NordVPN. (2023, December 19). https://nordvpn.com/blog/what-can-someone-do-with-your-ip-address/
Can anyone get your IP address from SL ?. ZoHa Islands. (2013, February 11). https://blog.zoha-islands.com/can-anyone-get-your-ip-address-from-sl/
I hope this post has helped to demystify IP addresses a bit. They are tracked everywhere so it’s helpful to know how they work and what you can do to protect yourself.
Much Love,
Amanda Bork
