There can be many reasons for you to want to retrieve a client’s IP address.
As we know, the IP address identifies a system uniquely in a network. It is like a unique identification code for a system. Once you have the IP address, get a lot of information about the exact visitor.
There’s more than one way to get a client’s IP address. There are several motivations to do that as well. People want to retrieve the client IP address for customization, data collection, surveys, demographics study, and so on.
However, sometimes the intention is malicious and borders around spoofing. Since spoofing is illegal in many jurisdictions and also unethical, we urge our readers to never do anything that breaches the law.
It can be difficult to retrieve information like IP addresses depending on the system you are using.
While there are many ways, JavaScript and PHP are the two most common avenues. Here we will learn more about getting a client’s IP address using JavaScript. We will also talk about other things pertaining to system security, programming languages, and good coding standards and practices.
How to get a client’s IP address using JavaScript
Before going into the topic, you should understand that getting a client’s IP address using JavaScript involves a fairly advanced degree of coding.
If you have very little knowledge about coding in JavaScript, you should brush up on your skills before attempting to get a client’s IP address.
Getting client’s IP address using JavaScript
JavaScript does not and cannot store the client IP. It is not even possible for JavaScript to get the same. However, it can create HTTP requests. That in turn can be used to get the user public IP through server-side languages. This feature lets us get the client IP with JavaScript.
This system, however, also has a major loophole. It essentially leaves you at the mercy of getting a request from any server to get the client’s public IP. With the introduction of WebRTC, that problem is taken care of.
With WebRTC and a process known as RTCPeerConnection, you can get a client’s private IP without much difficulty.
Even better, Abstract API’s simple and free IP geolocation API lets you get a client’s IP address with ease. Check out the Abstract’s guide to get IP addresses in JavaScript to get detailed steps along with tips and tricks.
Earlier, we had mentioned that you can get a client’s IP address using both JavaScript and PHP. Both are popular programming languages for a wide range of projects. Here are some of the key differences between the two.
PHP vs JavaScript
As of 2019, JavaScript is the most popular programming language. More than 69% of developers use JavaScript worldwide.
The key difference is that PHP is used for backend development exclusively.
JavaScript, when it was released in 1995, was exclusively for frontend development. However, after Node.js came into being, JavaScript was no longer restricted for frontend. Now developers use JavaScript for both server and client sides.
One of the major differences between JavaScript and PHP is in performance. JavaScript is generally faster than PHP.
On the flipside, PHP is easier to learn and is suitable for beginners. Both have large communities, but JavaScript has many more use cases. PHP is most commonly used in e-commerce websites, blogs, and LMS (learning management system).
WordPress famously uses PHP, as does WikiPedia, Facebook, and many other sites. While you can combine JavaScript with HTML, XML, and Ajax, PHP extends to only HTML.
Which programming language you choose depends largely on your use case. JavaScript is great for large projects and PHP is great for dynamic web pages.
Why get IP addresses?
Since you are looking for ways to get a client’s IP address using JavaScript, it is safe to assume that you have a motivation for doing so. Unless you do anything that qualifies as spoofing, you can get a lot of value from client IP addresses. One of the most common use cases is for customizing content.
As we all know, modern content marketing is all about targeted marketing. We see that all around us be it social media or email newsletters. Here are a few more things you can do to get client IP addresses that are much simpler.
Connect on social media
The advantage of connecting with clients and visitors on social media is the availability of analytical tools. These tools give detailed analysis of traffic and you can retrieve a lot of valuable information from them.
Ask for feedback
When you get feedback, you also get relevant information about the person giving the feedback. Urge visitors to leave feedback more often to get more information from them.
Use specific software
There are a number of online tools that integrate with your website to give you information about visitors. While they mostly come with a price tag, you get information worth your money.
As long as you are not doing anything illegal, like spoofing, you can ethically and legally retrieve data from visitors. Spoofing is listed as a cybercrime and is a criminal activity. In spoofing attacks, the cybercriminals impersonate an authentic identity to trick users into submitting information.
There are many types of spoofing – Caller ID, email, website, and a lot more. Knowing how to stay protected from such cyberattacks is very important. Following good cyber safety practices can keep you protected against a host of cyber attacks.
Until now, we talked from a website owner’s perspective. From the visitor’s perspective, giving away the IP address is not a great option for everyone. Many people like to stay away from targeted marketing and go to great lengths to ensure it. Here are a few things they can do to hide their IP addresses.
VPN
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is the most commonly used tool to hide IP addresses. VPNs are very effective in hiding substantial information about the client system. Both paid and free VPNs are widely available.
Tor
Most people access the Tor network with the Tor browser. It hides user information through multiple layers of encryption.
Proxy
Unlike VPNs and Tor, proxy networks are not 100% effective but are good as a temporary solution.
Conclusion
To sum it up, getting a client’s IP address using JavaScript is not difficult if you have access to the right resources.
There are many tools and ways to do it and the choice boils down to personal preferences.
You can use the locational data from retrieved client IP addresses for many reasons, customized content marketing being one of the most important.
