When we connect to the internet
an element always accompanies us which makes each connection unique.
It is the IP address.
It identifies us and acts as the sender of a letter.
A letter we send to the IP address of the service we want to use.
Thus, every time we use a service
it can see our IP address
From an IP address
you can find out which is our Internet access provider.
This is so because there is a public management system
which lists all the IP addresses used and whose they are.
They are what they are called RIR (Regional Internet Registry)
which guarantee that the addresses that we use are unique
Some web services allow easy access to IP address information,
the name of the organization to which they belong and an approximate geographical location.
In some cases, it can be known a more accurate geographic position,
such as country, province, population, postal code or latitude and longitude.
An information that is extracted from the regional registers,
which include the registered office of our service provider.
Service providers may also know the exact location of our IP address,
but they have no reason to share it.
Then there are people who voluntarily provide this information,
perhaps without being aware of it.
This is the case with mobile phones.
If we enable location on our Android or iOS device, Google and Apple can know where we are
and link this information to our IP when we use their services.
The same goes for any installed app
to which we have given permission to access our location.
The geolocation of IP addresses can be used for advertising campaigns
segmented by location
or to limit access to certain content, depending on the country from which we connect.
When the law protects it and upon request to the ISP,
you can also know the location of someone who, for example,
has used an anonymous account on a social network to harass someone.
Virtual Private Networks can be a remedy for this situation.
They make it possible to hide the real location, since only that of the company that offers the service will appear.
It is this company and not our service provider that will know where we are.
So it better be trustworthy and not all of them are.