The Location Widget looks for the geolocation of the user. It does that by making use of the public IP address the browser is using.
The information shared might not be accurate at all times since it relies on IP data sets that need to be updated frequently. That said, this gives a good indication of where the user originates from. At times, it can indicate that the user’s machine is behind a VPN (by showing a “wrong” location).
Estimated run time: 1 second or less
Customization
During onboarding, we can:
- Remove the “Show on map” link
- Upgrade to IP insights (see below)
Optional: IP insights
If you have licensed our IP insights add-on, then the LOCATION widget will collect additional information and display it in the log:
This information can indicate the type of VPN used, if any; the type of network and the stability of the IP address used.
If the user is behind a VPN, that will appear directly on the widget itself next to the IP of the user:
IP insights will also indicate in the widget if the machine is known to be cloud hosted:
When to use?
The Location Widget is something that most of our clients adopt and use.
Knowing where the user is running the test from and correlating that with what you know about the user and how he needs to connect gives a basic understanding of the user’s network configuration.