> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://docs.ipcheck.ing/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://docs.ipcheck.ing/knowledge-base/faq/general-faq.md). # General FAQ Short answers to the questions people ask most. Each answer links to a longer page if you want the detail. ## Data and accuracy
Where does the IP data come from? Two separate things happen, and they use different sources. **Finding your address.** MyIP asks several independent servers what address they see you coming from — its own IPv4 and IPv6 servers, Cloudflare, a server in mainland China, and a dual-stack server. Each answer becomes one card. **Locating that address.** The country, city, ISP, and network name come from an IP geolocation database. You choose which one in **Preferences → IP Geolocation Database**. The available sources are IPCheck.ing, IPinfo.io, IP-API.com, IPAPI.is, IP2Location.io, IP.sb, and MaxMind. If your chosen source does not answer, MyIP falls back to the others in order. More: [Reading Your IP Cards](/knowledge-base/getting-started/reading-your-ip-cards.md)
Why do different sources show different results? Because nobody actually knows where an IP address is. Each database builds its own estimate from its own evidence — registration records, routing data, network measurements, and information volunteered by providers. Different evidence produces different guesses. Some fields are far more stable than others. The **country** and the **ASN** are usually right. The **city** is the least reliable field on the card, and the coordinates are frequently just the centre of a region rather than a real location. If the sources disagree about the **address itself** rather than its location, that is a different situation — it usually means your traffic is taking more than one route. More: [GeoIP: How IP Geolocation Works](/knowledge-base/concepts/geoip-explained.md) · [Why Do Sites See a Different IP?](/knowledge-base/diagnose/why-do-sites-see-a-different-ip.md)
Why is my location wrong? Almost always because an IP address is not a location. It is registered to a network, and the database is guessing where that part of the network serves. Common causes: your provider routes traffic through another city, you are on mobile data, you are behind a VPN or proxy, or the address was recently reassigned and the databases have not caught up. Being off by a few hundred kilometres is normal. Being in the wrong country usually means something is routing your traffic somewhere unexpected. More: [Why Is My IP Location Wrong?](/knowledge-base/diagnose/why-is-my-ip-location-wrong.md)
My IPv6 card is empty. Is something broken? No. It means your network does not have working IPv6, which is still true for many connections. Everything else keeps working normally. If your IPv4 card is empty instead, you are on an IPv6-only network — also fine, and increasingly common on mobile. More: [IPv4 vs IPv6](/knowledge-base/concepts/ipv4-vs-ipv6.md)
## Privacy
Is my data collected? The honest answer has a few parts. **Your test results.** Most of what you see — browser fingerprint, DNS, connectivity, speed test results — is measured in your browser or looked up live and shown only to you. Results are not stored on the server. The one exception is a [diagnostic report share link](/knowledge-base/getting-started/sharing-a-diagnostic-report.md), which only exists when you deliberately create one, and deletes itself after 1, 3, or 7 days. **IP geolocation lookups.** To tell you where an address is, that address is sent to a third-party provider such as IPinfo.io or IP-API.com. Those lookups fall under each provider's own privacy policy. **Analytics.** The official site uses Google Analytics to understand how the site is used — approximate location from your IP, browser language, and standard analytics data such as pages visited and device type. **Error monitoring.** The official site uses Sentry so that breakages get noticed and fixed. That includes technical error reports, performance timings, and your IP address attached to error reports. **Sign-in.** Optional. If you sign in, your email address and a count of advanced-feature uses are stored, so achievements can be calculated. **Your settings** — theme, language, tool preferences — stay in your browser's local storage and never leave your device. Read the full details on the official [privacy policy page](https://ipcheck.ing/privacy).
Do I have to sign in? No. Every tool works signed out. Signing in raises a few anti-abuse limits, unlocks the Invisibility Test and the in-depth DNS Leak Test, and lets you collect achievements. It exists only on the official site. More: [Accounts & Achievements](/knowledge-base/getting-started/accounts-and-achievements.md)
Can I hide my IP before taking a screenshot? Yes. Press h, or use the **Hide IP Information** button. This blurs the addresses on screen without changing any results. For sharing the data rather than a picture, the diagnostic report has a separate **Mask IP tails** option that removes the identifying end of every address before anything is exported. More: [Reading Your IP Cards](/knowledge-base/getting-started/reading-your-ip-cards.md)
## The project
Is MyIP free? Is it open source? Yes to both. MyIP is free to use and released under the MIT licence. The source code is on [GitHub](https://github.com/jason5ng32/MyIP). More: [About MyIP](/knowledge-base/faq/about.md)
Can I run my own copy? Yes. MyIP is designed to be self-hosted, and there is an official Docker image. A self-hosted copy has all the core tools; the features tied to the official site — sign-in, achievements, the Invisibility Test, and the in-depth DNS Leak Test — are not included, and things like the curl domains and share-link storage are configured by whoever runs the instance. More: [About MyIP](/knowledge-base/faq/about.md)
Does MyIP work offline? No. You can install it as an app on your desktop or phone, but every test needs to reach the network to have anything to measure. More: [Touring the Dashboard](/knowledge-base/getting-started/touring-the-dashboard.md)
I found a bug, or I have an idea. Open an issue on [GitHub](https://github.com/jason5ng32/MyIP/issues). Including a [diagnostic report link](/knowledge-base/getting-started/sharing-a-diagnostic-report.md) makes network bugs much easier to reproduce.
## Still stuck? Try the step-by-step guides in the **Diagnose** section — start with [Is My VPN or Proxy Working?](/knowledge-base/diagnose/is-my-vpn-working.md), [Can't Open a Website?](/knowledge-base/diagnose/cant-open-a-website.md), or [Why Is My Internet Slow?](/knowledge-base/diagnose/why-is-my-internet-slow.md). --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.ipcheck.ing/knowledge-base/faq/general-faq.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.