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.
