- How to get user IP address, OS, browser and country in PHP
- How to collect user IP address
- How to get user OS and browser
- How to get user country
- Conclusion
- Related Articles
- Retrieving the IP address of a remote request using PHP
- PHP API get requesters IP Address [duplicate]
- Get request sender server’s IP address to a PHP web service [duplicate]
- Get IP address of the server sending a request via html form
- Which is the better way to get the ip
How to get user IP address, OS, browser and country in PHP
As a developer, you may want to collect your website users’ information such as their IP addresses, their operating system, the browser, and the country from which they are accessing the site.
You may do this to track user activities for security reasons or for a better user experience in order to serve users with content that is more personalized content for their region/country.
How to collect user IP address
It is very easy to get user IP address in PHP using the superglobal variable $_SERVER which provides the server and environment-related information.
Below are the following ways in which you can collect the IP using the $_SERVER variable:
1. $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] — This contains the real IP address of the client. That is the most reliable value you can find from the user.
2. $_SERVER[‘HTTP_CLIENT_IP’] — This will fetch the IP address when the user is from shared Internet services.
3. $_SERVER[‘HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR’] — This will fetch the IP address from the user when he/she is behind the proxy.
The simplest way is just to collect the REMOTE_ADDR as below:
However, the user can be behind a proxy server in which case the proxy may have set the $_SERVER[‘HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR’] and in this case, the $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] fails to return the correct IP address of the user.
Use the sample code below to get the more accurate one:
else if (!empty($_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR'])) < $ip = $_SERVER['HTTP_X_FORWARDED_FOR']; >else < $ip = $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR']; >echo "IP address is: ".$ip;
How to get user OS and browser
You also correct the client information in PHP through the use of the variable $_SERVER.
Simply use the code below:
The above code should give the result as below:
Mozilla/5.0 (X11; Ubuntu; Linux x86_64; rv:91.0) Gecko/20100101 Firefox/91.0
If you just want to simply collect the OS name and the browser name and version, simply do this:
"; echo "Browser: ".end(explode(" ",$client));
It should give you the result as below depending on your OS and browser:
Operating system: Ubuntu
Browser: Firefox/91.0
How to get user country
It is possible to get the country information of the website user, using their IP address with the help of the geoplugin.net API.
Simply get the PHP curl GET request as below:
This request will give you a JSON response as below:
You can extract the JSON data to PHP variables for user as shown below:
geoplugin_continentName."
"; echo "Country Name: ".$params->geoplugin_countryName."
"; echo "Country Code: ".$params->geoplugin_countryCode."
"; echo "City Name: ".$params->geoplugin_city;
The above code should print out the result as shown below:
Continent Name: Africa
Country Name: Kenya
Country Code: KE
City Name: Nairobi
Conclusion
It is possible to collect important user information on your website for specific reasons such as tracking and security reasons, customizing the site content based on their region, web browser, etc.
In this article, we have covered how you can collect user IP address, web browser, operating system, and the country they are from using PHP. It’s my hope that the article has answered your question or it has been useful to you.
Related Articles
Retrieving the IP address of a remote request using PHP
The typical method is to utilize $_SERVER for this purpose, even though its functionality remains unchanged. A preferable solution would be to use $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] to avoid server incompatibilities.
PHP API get requesters IP Address [duplicate]
APIs can be accessed from both server-side PHP scripts and client-side Javascript in browsers using AJAX, which is more commonly used. For instance, snippets of Javascript for Google Analytics, Google Maps, and more can be found on many web pages, but the client browser actually makes the call to Google. In such cases, which are typical for most APIs, the client IP address is the only one visible, not the web server’s. Google (and other APIs) require registration for a free API key in such situations. You usually can’t trace it to a specific web server, but it does enable you to connect with the initial customer or developer who registered for the API.
Generate a no-cost «API Key» for your website’s customers, developers, and users to monitor their activities.
Php — Get IP address of the server sending a request via, address of the server sending request. The server doesn’t send a request. The browser sends a request, and the server sends a response. If you want the IP of the browser sending a request, use $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’].. If you want the IP of the server sending a response, use $_SERVER[‘SERVER_ADDR’].. Note: …
Get request sender server’s IP address to a PHP web service [duplicate]
While $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] is usable, it is not foolproof. Therefore, refrain from relying on it for security purposes. If you are unsure about the server used to serve the PHP (such as Apache or Tomcat), consider configuring whitelisting at the webserver level.
How to get user browser ip address in php Code Example, The simplest way to collect the Client/Visitor IP address using PHP is the REMOTE_ADDR. 2. Pass the ‘REMOTE_ADDR’ in PHP $_SERVER variable. It will return the IP address of the visitor who is currently viewing the webpage. 3. 4. Get the IP address of the website. 5.
Get IP address of the server sending a request via html form
The script’s address is executed by $_SERVER[‘SERVER_ADDR’]; server while the client address, $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’]; , is the source of the request from the server’s perspective. Additional information can be found in the documentation for the $_SERVER array.
The location of the requesting server.
The request is initiated by the browser and responded by the server, implying that the server doesn’t initiate the request.
Employ the $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] to obtain the IP address of the browser that initiated the request.
To obtain the IP of the responding server, utilize the code $_SERVER[‘SERVER_ADDR’] .
Keep in mind that $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] may not accurately indicate the IP address of the browser if there are any intervening proxies.
You are responsible for performing a DNS lookup if you require the IP address of the REFERER server.
$data = parse_url( $_SERVER['HTTP_REFERER']); print_r(dns_get_record($data['host']));
Array ( [0] => Array ( [host] => www.google.com [class] => IN [ttl] => 270 [type] => A [ip] => 172.217.9.68 ) [1] => Array ( [host] => www.google.com [class] => IN [ttl] => 14 [type] => AAAA [ipv6] => 2607:f8b0:4009:816::2004 ) )
It should be noted that $_SERVER[‘HTTP_REFERER’] may not be trustworthy since it can be easily manipulated.
Code return ip address of the client php Code Example, The simplest way to collect the Client/Visitor IP address using PHP is the REMOTE_ADDR. Pass the ‘REMOTE_ADDR’ in PHP $_SERVER variable. It will return the IP address of the visitor who is currently viewing the webpage. Get the IP address of the website
Which is the better way to get the ip
In PHP, $_SERVER is a pre-defined variable, whereas the getenv() function retrieves values from the environment, which is usually Apache/IIS.
The best way to get the IP is;
$ip = (!empty($_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'])) ? $_SERVER['REMOTE_ADDR'] : getenv('REMOTE_ADDR');
I’m skeptical that there’s a distinction between these two variables. Hmm.
The function getenv() provides access to all environment variables, including REMOTE_ADDR, which is registered by PHP as an environment variable for the script. In contrast, $_SERVER allows access only to the contents of the $_SERVER superglobal.
The conventional method is to employ $_SERVER for this purpose, even though there is no significant difference in terms of functionality.
To avoid server incompatibilities, it is advisable to use $_SERVER[‘REMOTE_ADDR’] instead.
How to identify server IP address in PHP, In order to obtain the IP address of the server one can use [‘SERVER_ADDR’], it returns the IP address of the server under the current script is executing. Another method is using the [‘REMOTE_ADDR’] in the $_SERVER array. [‘REMOTE_ADDR’] is only used for getting the IP address for the local servers …