Network scanning and opt-out

What we do

We periodically run reverse-DNS (PTR) lookups across the IPv4 address space. These lookups help us build our IP-intelligence dataset, which includes signals such as hosting provider, geolocation, and connection type. The work is automated and runs on a regular schedule.

What we do not do

We want to be precise here, because reverse-DNS enumeration is often confused with active scanning. It is not the same thing.

We send DNS queries only.

A reverse-DNS lookup asks the DNS system, "what hostname is on record for this IP address?" It does not touch the address itself.

We do not port-scan.

We do not probe, connect to, or open any session with the addresses we look up.

We send no packets to those hosts.

Nothing from this process reaches your servers. The traffic goes to DNS resolvers, not to your network.

How we scan responsibly

• We use our own local recursive resolvers to answer lookups.
• We keep conservative rate limits so we do not overload any resolver or authoritative server.
• We retry failed lookups with backoff instead of hammering the same query.

Identifying our scanners

The IP addresses we scan from reverse-resolve to hostnames that point back to this page. If you see one of our addresses in your DNS or resolver logs, the hostname will help you confirm that the traffic is ours and lead you here.

Opt out

Any network operator can ask us to exclude their IP ranges. Email us at abuse@ip-api.dev and include the CIDR ranges you want us to leave out. We honor these requests promptly, normally within a few business days. There is no form to fill out and no account to create.

Why this benefits the internet

Clear, public IP-intelligence data helps operators, researchers, and security teams understand how the internet is organized. Doing this work openly, with a plain contact and an easy opt-out, keeps it transparent and respectful of the networks it describes.

See the API reference for the data these lookups feed, or the dataset status page for how fresh it is.