- NordVPN released a new free browsing tool
- “My Location” displays your physical location next to the virtual location
- The tool seeks to help users understand their digital privacy risks
Location data can reveal much more than just which cafe you’re sitting in. They reveal the places you visit regularly, your daily routines and exactly when you are away from home. Now, to help users understand exactly what data they’re streaming, the team behind one of the best VPN services has released a dedicated way of checking.
NordVPN has officially launched My Location, a completely free online tool designed to let you instantly check both your physical location and the virtual location visible on websites you visit. Operating entirely at the browser level, the tool aims to demystify the impact of different types of location data on your digital privacy.
“Location is one of the most sensitive types of personal information because it can reveal where you are as well as patterns regarding your daily life,” says Marijus Briedis, CTO at NordVPN. “Once this data is exposed or shared too widely, it can be used for profiling, targeting, and other purposes well beyond the original reason it was collected.”
Real or virtual location
One of the main goals of the My Location tool is to educate users about the crucial difference between their real and virtual locations.
Your real location is located using device-based methods such as GPS or your browser’s geolocation API, which apps typically use when requesting access to your movements.
Your virtual locationhowever, is based on the IP address associated with your online traffic. This is the data that websites rely on by default to estimate the origin of your connection.
Why is this difference important? Passing on this information may lead to targeted advertising and regional price discrimination, where websites show you different prices depending on your region. In more serious cases, a time-stamped location history can incite intrusive surveillance or stalking by making it easy to infer where you live and track your movements through daily life.
Using the tool is incredibly simple, but you must follow a specific step to protect your privacy.
When you navigate to the My Location page, you will see a button to test your location. If you’re using Google Chrome, clicking “Test” will trigger a browser warning asking: “Can I tell NordVPN your location?” » Along with this warning, Chrome will offer you three options: “Block”, “Just this once” or “Always”.
Users should opt for “Just this once.” By doing this, you are allowing the tool to use your browser’s geolocation API to determine your actual physical location and map it to your IP-based virtual location for that session only. Because you have not granted permanent access, the tool will not work automatically again, thus preserving your privacy in the long term.
Above all, you don’t have to worry about the provider keeping tabs on you. NordVPN confirmed that the tool works only at the browser level and that it “does not record or store any location data revealed during use.”
How to protect your location data
Beyond just checking visible information, it’s essential to take active steps to lock down your data.
Briedis recommends some simple hygiene habits for your devices. You should regularly review your app permissions, making sure you only allow location access when you’re actively using an app. Additionally, it is strongly recommended to disable geolocation in your device’s camera settings and choose privacy-friendly tools as much as possible.
Finally, while a virtual private network (VPN) doesn’t hide GPS tracking, it’s the best way to protect your virtual footprint. By routing your internet traffic through an encrypted server, a VPN changes the visible IP address on websites, ensuring that your general browsing activity remains safely hidden.
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