--- title: "Server Location" description: "Auto-detected server location in the dashboard widget. Pick the geolocation provider that fits your privacy and accuracy needs — or override manually." url: "https://docs.versioninfoplugin.com/pro-features-server-location/" --- Auto-detected server location in the dashboard widget. Pick the geolocation provider that fits your privacy and accuracy needs — or override manually. # Server Location **This is a PRO feature.** Live system resources, sparklines, environment indicators, server location, and more. [Upgrade to PRO →](https://versioninfoplugin.com/pricing) When **Show Live System Resources in Dashboard Widget** is enabled, the widget shows a **Server Location** row alongside CPU, memory, disk and the other live metrics. The location is resolved through a deterministic chain so you stay in control of every external call the plugin makes. ![Version Info Server Location settings tab in WordPress admin showing the auto-detect toggle, the four-provider dropdown set to Version Info Geolocation (anonymous), and a Detect now button to bust the 30-day cache](../images/server-location-settings-tab.png) The dedicated **Server Location** tab — enable/disable auto-detect, pick one of four geolocation providers, and force a re-detect on demand. Cached results live for 30 days in the `vi_server_location` transient. ### Resolution Order For every page load the resolver runs top to bottom and stops at the first match: 1. **Auto-detect disabled** — if the *Server Location Auto-Detect* checkbox is off, the widget shows `Auto-detect disabled` and no network calls are made. 2. **30-day cache** — successful lookups are cached for 30 days in the `vi_server_location` transient. Failed lookups cache for 1 hour so a flaky provider doesn't get hammered every page load. 3. **Active provider** — one of the four options described below. This is the only step that may make an outbound HTTP request. 4. **Reverse-DNS fallback** — if the active provider returns no result, the plugin tries `gethostbyaddr(SERVER_ADDR)` and uses the hostname (e.g. `web-fra-1.example.net (reverse DNS)`). Zero network calls beyond DNS. 5. **`Unknown`** — final fallback if every step above fails. ### Provider Options The "Location Provider" dropdown lets you pick which auto-detect backend the plugin uses. Pick once and forget — the result is cached for 30 days, so the choice is more about which company gets to see your IP than about performance. | Provider | Data returned | Auth | Third-party? | Notes | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | **Version Info Geolocation (anonymous)** *(default)* | City, region, country, postal code, timezone, lat/long, hosting provider name (ASN), Cloudflare datacenter colo | None | We host it on Cloudflare Workers; logs nothing | Most enriched. Free for every PRO customer. The Worker proxies Cloudflare's edge geoIP for your IP and returns the JSON — no database, no persistence, no analytics. | | **Cloudflare cdn-cgi/trace** | Country code only | None | Cloudflare's public 1.1.1.1 endpoint | Fastest, simplest, anonymous — but country-level only. Pick this if you want zero auth and zero detail. | | **ip-api.com** | City, region, country | None (free tier) | ip-api.com | What the abandoned `wp-server-stats` plugin used. Free for non-commercial sites at 45 req/min — the 30-day cache means you'll never come close. Subject to ip-api's uptime. | | **MaxMind GeoLite2 City Web Service** | City, region, country, hosting provider name | Account ID + License Key | maxmind.com | Best ISP/ASN accuracy. Requires a [free MaxMind account](https://www.maxmind.com/en/geolite2/signup); paste the credentials as `account_id:license_key` in the dedicated field that appears when this provider is selected. Free tier: 1,000 lookups/day. | ### "Version Info Geolocation (anonymous)" — what it actually does The default provider hits `https://geo.versioninfoplugin.com/locate` — our own Cloudflare Worker. The Worker's full source is in the plugin repo at [`workers/geo-worker.js`](https://github.com/gauchoplugins/version-info/blob/main/workers/geo-worker.js). Here's what happens on every lookup: 1. Your server makes one outbound HTTPS request to `geo.versioninfoplugin.com/locate`. 2. Cloudflare's edge attaches geoIP metadata to the request based on your server's IP. 3. The Worker reads `request.cf` (city, region, country, postal, timezone, lat/long, ASN, hosting-provider name, CF colo) and echoes the JSON back. 4. Our plugin caches the result for 30 days. We **don't** log the request. We **don't** persist your IP. We **don't** sell anything to a third party. The Worker isn't even a database — it's a ~50-line passthrough. The trade-off versus dropping all auto-detect: this is still *our* third party. If that's a dealbreaker, switch to **Cloudflare cdn-cgi/trace** (country only) — it sends the request to Cloudflare directly, with no intermediary — or uncheck Auto-Detect to skip the lookup entirely. ### Disabling Auto-Detect Entirely Uncheck **Server Location Auto-Detect** on *Settings → Version Info → Server Location*. With auto-detect off: * No outbound HTTP requests are made for location data. * The widget row reads `Auto-detect disabled`. * The transient cache is ignored. ### Cache Lifecycle Auto-detected results live in the `vi_server_location` transient with a 30-day TTL. Two ways to force a refresh: 1. Click the **Detect now** button on *Settings → Server Location*. 2. Programmatically: `delete_transient( 'vi_server_location' );` then load any admin page. The "Detect now" button is also useful for testing: after you switch providers, click it to see what the new backend returns without waiting for the cache to expire. ### Privacy Summary | What goes out | When | | --- | --- | | Your server's IP → `geo.versioninfoplugin.com` | Only when the default provider is active and the cache is empty (≤12 times/year at default 30-day cache). | | Your server's IP → `1.1.1.1/cdn-cgi/trace` | Only when the Cloudflare-trace provider is active. | | Your server's IP → `ip-api.com` | Only when the ip-api provider is active. | | Your server's IP + MaxMind credentials → `geolite.info` | Only when the MaxMind provider is active. | | Nothing | When auto-detect is disabled or when the result is cached. | ### For Developers | Filter / Constant | Purpose | | --- | --- | | `vi_server_location` transient | Manually inject a result that survives 30 days. | | `version_info_widget_extras_ttl` filter | Controls the broader extras cache (5 min by default); the location-specific cache is separate. |