About Uplink Trace
Uplink Trace is a free tool to trace an IP address. Enter an address on the tracer and it assembles a dossier from public network data: the probable area the address maps to, the network operator and ASN, reverse DNS, and registry details — each field labelled with a confidence rating instead of a pretence of precision.
Who builds it
Uplink Trace is built and operated by Altered Horizon Ventures, a software company in Montréal, Québec, Canada (alteredhorizonventures.com). We work in applied computer vision, AI, real-time graphics, and geospatial systems — fields where the line between a measurement and an estimate matters, and where an estimate dressed up as a certainty is a defect, not a feature.
Why we built it
IP geolocation is commodity data. The same public datasets power hundreds of lookup sites, and most present the output the same way: a pin on a map with no indication of how much to trust it. We thought the data deserved better — a presentation that states what is known, what is inferred, and how confident each inference is. Country-level results are right roughly 95–99% of the time; city-level results only 50–75% on fixed broadband, and often worse on mobile or VPN connections. Those numbers belong on the page, not in the fine print. Our accuracy guide covers them in detail.
One limit is worth stating plainly: IP geolocation locates networks, not people. It cannot identify an individual, a household, or a street address, and Uplink Trace never claims otherwise.
Where the data comes from
Every field in a dossier is traceable to a public source.
| Source | What it provides | Licence |
|---|---|---|
| DB-IP Lite | Country, region and city estimates with coordinates | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIPE NCC | Autonomous system names and operator details | Public registry data |
| OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles rendered by CARTO | Map imagery | ODbL |
Reverse DNS is resolved live from the public DNS system. Datacenter and VPN flags are heuristic — inferred from the AS operator's name, always marked LIKELY, and never presented as proof.
Our commitments
- No stored lookups. The addresses you trace are processed in memory and are not written to a database.
- No visitor profiling. We do not build profiles of the people who use the site. The details are in our privacy policy.
- Honest limits. When the data is uncertain, the dossier says so. A low confidence rating is information, not an apology.
Questions about how the tool works are answered in the FAQ. For anything else — corrections, licensing, or an attribution concern — reach us through the contact page or at support@alteredhorizonventures.com.