Tor IP address and location

Question

I have my web site and I got a complaint saying

Why do I see prices in "EUR", I'm using TOR.

I installed TOR and went to whatismyipaddress.com

It says IPv4: 23.129.64.231 - you are in Kentucky US. I tried it in a second window and got the same result. The IP changes over time but I always get to Kentucky US.

I was surprised, because US users should get USD prices.

From the same TOR browser I went to google.com and it asked me something in German. I don't speak German. I only understand it was German, because in the bottom left corner it said "Deutschland". But if it was German, then EUR prices is fine.

I modified my web site to see my IP address, and there I see 104.244.73.13 Luxembourg, Mersch.

So, what an I missing? When I use TOR, am I in Kentucky or in Germany or in Luxembourg?

I keep refreshing it, and I'm getting the same results.

Does it remember IPs for each tab?

Answer 1

First of all, thanks for trying to make your website better for Tor users :)

When you use tor, it creates "anonymous connections" (circuits) through typically 3 proxies (relays) in the Tor network. These relays are located in about 80 countries, with exit relays (relays that exit the Tor network and connect to the destination website) in about 55 countries. As tor clients choose the relays they use mostly randomly, their exit relay can be in any of these countries. Your website sees the user connecting to your server from an IP address in any of these countries.

The relays used by a Tor client change over time, and the Tor Browser uses a feature of the tor proxy called stream isolation to use different relays for connections to different domains. This means that in Tor Browser, two different websites will see the user connecting from different IP addresses, in possibly different countries. These IP addresses will also change over time or when the user restarts their browser.

This is the good and bad side of privacy tools like Tor. The website doesn't know the user's real country (good for privacy), but the website can't provide country-specific information (bad for usability). It's often best for the website to allow the user to easily change their country/language/currency if it's incorrect.

I keep refreshing it, and I'm getting the same results.

Refreshing the page isn't enough to have Tor use a new circuit (with new relays). You need to restart the browser, or wait a few minutes before refreshing the page.

Does it remember IPs for each tab?

It's per-domain and not per-tab, but I forget specifically what the stream isolation rules are in Tor Browser.