Skyscanner infers a user's location using their network IP address, leveraging a third-party geolocation provider called MaxMind. This approach does not provide the user's precise location or exact GPS coordinates.
Instead, the coordinates returned typically represent the approximate center of the identified area, such as a city, district, or borough. The level of detail varies depending on the quality and availability of IP data. In some cases, the location may only be identified at the country level.
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For approximately 90% of searches and redirects, we can determine location at the city level. The remaining cases are identified at the country level or are unavailable.
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The accuracy at the city level varies and should not be assumed to pinpoint an individual user’s exact location. This is a known limitation of IP-based geolocation.
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MaxMind reports a city level accuracy of:
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98% for detecting the correct country
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40–66% for detecting the correct city, depending on the region.
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Factors such as VPN usage, mobile networks and recent changes to privacy settings on platforms like iOS can further impact accuracy.