IP Geolocation and User Management

IP geolocation turns IP addresses in uploader records, login devices, and similar logs into approximate locations.

After it is configured, the admin panel can show upload and access origins more clearly. User Management also lets you block or restore upload access for suspicious IP addresses.

Where To Configure It

Open:

System Settings -> Other Settings -> IP Geolocation

Available Settings

The newer IP geolocation flow supports multiple sources instead of relying on one map service.

Setting	Purpose
IP geolocation language	Chooses the display language, such as English, Simplified Chinese, Japanese, French, and others.
MaxMind Account ID	MaxMind account ID for MaxMind GeoLite Web Service.
MaxMind License Key	MaxMind License Key.
Tencent Map Key	Tencent Location Service key. Useful for Chinese addresses and mainland China IPs.
ipapi Key	APILayer ipapi key. Supports multilingual IP geolocation.

Fill in only the services you need. You do not have to configure every field.

If no key is provided, ImgBed still tries built-in free sources, but stability, language support, and precision may be lower than a service you configure yourself.

Recommended Choices

If you mainly need Chinese addresses:

1. Set IP geolocation language to Simplified Chinese.
2. Configure Tencent Map Key.
3. Optionally add MaxMind or ipapi as fallback sources.

If you mainly need English or multilingual addresses:

1. Choose the language you need.
2. Configure MaxMind Account ID and License Key.
3. Add an ipapi Key if you need better multilingual results.

MaxMind Setup

MaxMind needs:

MaxMind Account ID
MaxMind License Key

Find the account ID in the MaxMind dashboard and generate a License Key from the License Keys page.

After generation, paste the Account ID and License Key into ImgBed and save.

MaxMind's free plan is suitable for everyday use, but it has request limits. If the quota is exceeded, ImgBed continues trying other available sources.

ipapi Setup

ipapi uses an APILayer API Key.

Open the ipapi console and copy the API Key shown there.

Paste it into the ipapi Key field in ImgBed and save.

ipapi supports multilingual IP geolocation and is useful when you want addresses shown in a selected language. Its free plan also has request limits. If quota runs out, ImgBed continues trying other available sources.

Tencent Map Key Setup

Tencent Map Key is useful for Chinese addresses, especially mainland China IPs.

When creating a key in Tencent Location Service, enable:

WebServiceAPI

After creation, paste the key into Tencent Map Key and save.

If you only need basic Chinese IP geolocation, Tencent Map Key is enough to get started.

What To Check in User Management

User Management is available from the top of the admin panel.

User Management shows upload activity by IP:

Field	Description
IP source	Uploader source IP.
Address	Approximate location resolved from the IP.
Total upload size	Total file size uploaded by this IP.
Upload count	Number of uploads from this IP.
Upload allowed	On means uploads are allowed. Off means uploads are blocked.

Click the arrow on the left to expand the list of files uploaded by that IP.

The file list shows file name, preview, file size, moderation result, file status, and upload time. When uploads look suspicious, expand the IP first, review the files, then decide whether to block further uploads.

If an IP is suspicious, turn off Upload allowed. Future uploads from that IP will be blocked.

Search, Sort, and Advanced Filters

At the top of User Management, search by IP source or address.

Sort by time, upload count, or total upload size to find recent uploaders, high-frequency uploaders, or high-usage IPs.

For deeper investigation, open advanced filters.

Advanced filters support:

Filter	Usage
Time range	Show IPs that uploaded files during a selected period.
Access status	Filter by normal, blocked, and similar states.
Allow/block list	Filter by allowlist, blocklist, or unset.
File type	Show IPs that uploaded images, videos, audio, documents, code, or other files.
File size	Filter by uploaded file size range.
Age rating	Filter by unset, General, R12+, R16+, R18, and similar ratings.
File status	Filter by current file status to investigate abnormal files.

Click Apply Filters to apply. Use Reset to return to all data.

Mobile View

On mobile, User Management switches to card layout.

Each card shows IP, address, total upload size, upload count, and the upload allowed switch. You can manage users without horizontal table scrolling.

If the Location Looks Wrong

IP geolocation is approximate. It is not a precise street address.

If the user is behind a proxy, data center, cloud server, or cross-border network, the displayed location may differ from the real location.

Use this feature to understand rough origin, find abnormal uploads, and assist blocking decisions. Do not treat it as precise tracking.

Common Cases

Case	Meaning
Address is empty	The IP may not have resolved yet, or the current source is temporarily unavailable.
Address language is wrong	Check IP geolocation language and whether a source supporting that language is configured.
Address shows a data center	Many proxies, cloud servers, and crawlers appear as data center or ISP addresses.
Upload count is high	Review this IP carefully and block uploads if needed.
Total upload size is large	Sort or filter, expand the IP, and inspect specific files.
Need to restore after blocking	Turn Upload allowed back on.

Quick Flow

Open IP Geolocation in Other Settings
-> Choose IP geolocation language
-> Fill MaxMind, Tencent Map, or ipapi credentials as needed
-> Save settings
-> Open User Management
-> Review IP source, address, total upload size, and upload count
-> Use search, sort, or advanced filters to find abnormal IPs
-> Allow or block uploads as needed