Understanding Mixpanel's Location Tracking: IP vs. GPS

Sakir · 2025-07-10T07:39:19.453Z

mixpanel shows location by IP Adress or GPS? why does it show another city as my location even though i have never been to that location

Understanding Mixpanel's Location Tracking: IP vs. GPS | Mixpanel Community

2 comments

· Sorted by Oldest

kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Hi Sakir, Please stand by as I search the Mixpanel knowledge base for an AI-powered answer. I normally take about 15 seconds or so. In case AI cannot answer your question, feel free to reach out to Mixpanel support at mixpanel.com/get-support. If you have follow-up questions for this thread, please tag me again with your question: @kapa.ai <follow-up question> 👋
Feel free to ask a follow-up question once I've answered by mentioning me with @kapa.ai
kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Mixpanel determines location primarily using the IP address of the device or server that sends the event or profile update. It does not use GPS data for geolocation. The IP address is parsed through a third-party geolocation service (MaxMind) to estimate the city, region, and country, and these values are attached to your data. The actual IP address is not stored—only the derived geolocation properties are kept. GPS-based location (latitude and longitude) can be manually provided, but is not collected by default unless you explicitly include those properties in your payloads Geolocation: IP address and location properties.If Mixpanel shows a different city as your location, it is likely because: - The IP address used for geolocation may not accurately reflect your physical location. This can happen if you are behind a VPN, proxy, or if your ISP routes traffic through a different city. - If events or profile updates are sent from a server (not directly from your device), the server’s IP address is used, which will set the location to the server’s data center, not your actual location. - IP-based geolocation is inherently approximate and can sometimes be inaccurate Geolocation: IP address and location properties / FAQ.If you know the correct location, you can manually set geolocation properties or provide latitude and longitude in your data to override the default behavior Manual Geolocation Tracking.
kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.
ℹ️ Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.

kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Hi Sakir, Please stand by as I search the Mixpanel knowledge base for an AI-powered answer. I normally take about 15 seconds or so. In case AI cannot answer your question, feel free to reach out to Mixpanel support at mixpanel.com/get-support. If you have follow-up questions for this thread, please tag me again with your question: @kapa.ai <follow-up question> 👋
Feel free to ask a follow-up question once I've answered by mentioning me with @kapa.ai
kapa.ai
APP
·
·
Mixpanel determines location primarily using the IP address of the device or server that sends the event or profile update. It does not use GPS data for geolocation. The IP address is parsed through a third-party geolocation service (MaxMind) to estimate the city, region, and country, and these values are attached to your data. The actual IP address is not stored—only the derived geolocation properties are kept. GPS-based location (latitude and longitude) can be manually provided, but is not collected by default unless you explicitly include those properties in your payloads Geolocation: IP address and location properties.If Mixpanel shows a different city as your location, it is likely because: - The IP address used for geolocation may not accurately reflect your physical location. This can happen if you are behind a VPN, proxy, or if your ISP routes traffic through a different city. - If events or profile updates are sent from a server (not directly from your device), the server’s IP address is used, which will set the location to the server’s data center, not your actual location. - IP-based geolocation is inherently approximate and can sometimes be inaccurate Geolocation: IP address and location properties / FAQ.If you know the correct location, you can manually set geolocation properties or provide latitude and longitude in your data to override the default behavior Manual Geolocation Tracking.
kapa.ai is still learning and improving, please let me know how I did by reacting below.
ℹ️ Tip: Mention @kapa.ai in the thread for follow-ups or DM the app for 1-to-1 help.