Frequently Asked Questions

It uses your browser’s built-in Geolocation API. When you click “Detect My Location,” your browser asks your device (GPS chip, Wi-Fi positioning, or cellular network) for a position and, if you approve the permission prompt, hands the coordinates directly to this page. We never see your location before you grant permission, and there’s no separate account or app involved.

When your browser grants a position, it's your device's actual location source — usually GPS on phones, or a mix of Wi-Fi/cell-tower positioning on laptops — not a guess based on your IP address. IP-based location is typically only accurate to a city or region; browser geolocation is normally accurate to somewhere between a few meters and about a hundred meters, shown to you as the "accuracy" radius.

No. This is a static site with no backend database. Your coordinates stay in your browser's memory for the current page view. They're sent to a third party only when needed to render a result — OpenStreetMap's tile servers to draw the map, and OpenStreetMap's Nominatim API to turn coordinates into an address (with a second, independent free provider queried only as a fallback if OpenStreetMap has no postal code for your exact point). None of these calls include any identifying information beyond the coordinates themselves and standard network metadata like your IP address. See the Privacy page for details.

No. This site never estimates your location from your IP address. If your device's GPS is denied, unsupported, or fails, the only fallback is a manual place search you type into yourself — there's no automatic or one-click IP-based substitute.

Browsers require explicit, per-site permission before any page can read your location — that's a browser-level privacy protection, not something this site controls. If you deny it, the tool simply can't detect your position; you can change your decision later in your browser's site settings.

Accuracy depends on your device and environment. Phones with a clear sky view typically get GPS accuracy within 5-20 meters. Laptops and desktops without GPS hardware rely on Wi-Fi and network positioning, which is often accurate to 20-150 meters. Indoors, near tall buildings, or with location services set to "battery saving" mode, accuracy drops further. The accuracy figure shown next to your coordinates is your browser's own confidence radius.

Yes — once your location is detected, use the “Open in Google Maps” or “Open in Apple Maps” buttons. Both open a map centered on your exact detected coordinates in a new tab (or the native app, on phones that have it installed).

Yes. The Geolocation API is supported by all modern browsers — Safari, Chrome, Firefox, Edge — on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Linux. The site is fully responsive and works the same way across phone, tablet, and desktop screens.

OpenStreetMap tile servers (to display the interactive map) and OpenStreetMap's Nominatim API (to turn your coordinates into a readable address) on every successful GPS detection. If GPS fails and you use the manual search box instead, Nominatim is contacted the other way — with the text you typed, to look up matching coordinates. All of them receive only the data needed for their part of the request, plus standard network-level metadata such as your IP address — the same way any website's images or fonts are requested.

We use Google Analytics to understand overall site traffic — page views, rough region, device type — which sets its own cookies to do that. It's entirely separate from the location tool: it never receives the coordinates, address, or accuracy your browser reports, and can't link the two together. Your theme preference (light/dark) is stored locally in your browser's own localStorage and never transmitted anywhere. See the Privacy page for what Google Analytics collects and how to opt out.

Yes, at any time, from your browser's site settings (usually the padlock or "i" icon in the address bar → Site settings → Location). Revoking it means this tool simply can't detect your position on your next visit until you allow it again.