Alan Webber, a research analyst in the Altimeter Group, agrees that “with the exclusion of law enforcement employees that have a few other instruments and procedures to match IP addresses to various sources (which supply added info); at this time, an IP address, alone, cannot identify a particular individual.”

He adds, “Nevertheless, when joined with other info, including a user name, then yes, the IP address can disclose your identity.”

That subnet may identify a group of logical addresses that can, in certain situations, be linked with a real place. For instance, there could be an address range related to ISP subscribers in a particular place.

Crawford stresses that when correlated to more particular advice (including address, browsing action, or alternative data gathered), during the course of online transactions; for instance, the IP address may be related to that action or with a particular place. Although ISPs frequently assign addresses dynamically through protocols like DHCP, it is not unusual for a single, physical location (like a house) to keep the exact same IP address for an extended time. “Once the particular private data is linked to the IP address, the action related to that address may be correlated so,” includes Crawford.