Why is it scary if someone leaks your IP address? (i.e., How does doxxing actually work?)

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I am *really* not a computer guy, and this question has kinda been on my mind since I found out about doxxing/IP grabbers ages ago. I didn’t really care too much, since I am not a fan of putting people in danger over twitter like a dickhead, but can someone tell me generally why it’s a serious issue if someone leaks your IP?

Since this sounds as if I’m trying to doxx someone: I’m posting after searching my own IP & I found that most websites pinpointed my address to a different country entirely?? (Still a country next to mines, but definitely more than far away enough for me to care if mines were leaked). Famous people who get doxxed online always move away for safety, so I’m really confused why that is when the website I used to check my own IP address on a bunch of places online at once usually all ended up being a whole country off.

Even though I shouldn’t need to state this outright; **don’t give a step-by-step guide on how to doxx people**. I don’t want to know that. I just want to know why IP grabbing is such a big deal and how doxxing is possible vaguely in a way that forces people to move cities.

In: Technology

40 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

If somebody knows your IP address, they may be able to narrow down the rough area you live in, within a few miles.

That *by itself* isn’t too bad, but if you’ve ever posted a picture of your lawn or your house, that’s probably good enough that they can then look up satellite imagery on Google Maps to find out exactly where you live, and now they have your house address.

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