And while tracking the location of a Gmail account through its own IP is a fairly simple process and can be done with a number of free tools, the main problem is usually getting hold of the IP address itself.
The email IP address can be considered sensitive information (and it definitely is ). While some email clients ignore this fact and clearly display the sender's email IP address, obtaining it from Gmail is nearly impossible.
It is often recommended to go to the email you received, click on the three dots (⋮) on the right side of the screen and choose the Show original option to see the detailed information behind the email.
how to trace gmail sender location
In the field called SPF (sender policy framework), there will be an email IP indonesia phone number data address that you might mistake for a sender IP address. In reality, this IP does NOT show the exact location of the person who sent you an email or his device.
This is the IP address of the Google server that processed the email.
how to trace email sender location in gmail
So what can you do?
email sender location in gmail
Method 1: Trace email addresses with reverse email lookup tools
We have a whole blog post dedicated to different reverse email lookup tools that you can check out here.
But, in short, a reverse email lookup service is an email address tracker that can help users find out who might be contacting them and for what purpose, especially if it is an unknown or suspicious email address.
In addition to finding the email location address, you can also receive the following information:
Sender's real full name.
Aliases, if you have them.
Your phone numbers, both mobile and landline.
All social media profiles (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.)
Photos of the senders.
Some of the most popular email location tracking tools among users are CocoFinder, Social Catfish, EmailSherlock, InfoTracer, and BeenVerified.
They all follow more or less the same search procedure. All you have to do is sign up on a website, choose the best paid plan for you (most tools are not free), enter the email address of the target person, click the Start Search button and get a report within a few minutes.
email sender location in gmail
Method 2: Location tracking on social media
Social media has transformed communication and socializing as we know it. However, many people don't realize how much they are exposing themselves by putting their personal information on their public social media profiles. This vulnerability can also be used when looking up the sender of an email.
Most users tend to use a nickname or similar nicknames when registering on different websites.
Chances are, if you use their email address to search on social media with a similar nickname, you can find the profile. From there, you can try to find out their location using the information they posted. For example, the popular social network LinkedIn can serve as an email location tracker. There are so many people registered here that you can find almost anyone.
Be careful though; this technique is less reliable as it can lead you to the wrong account. Also, spam or fraudulent emails are likely to use fake or simply randomly generated addresses.
Now what?
If after trying different reverse email methods you've found that the sender is not the person they're impersonating, there are many different ways to deal with the situation. Ignoring their messages is the easiest, but you can go further. If you block the user from sending you emails, you'll save your spam filter some effort.
An even better solution would be to block their IP address. Any messages sent from that address will be dropped by your filters. Unfortunately, Gmail doesn't have a built-in feature to do this, but that's no problem. Linux users enjoy the luxury of being able to manage their IP tables directly from the command line.
And for all Windows users, you can always find software for that. A quick search will get you the right program along with instructions on how to use it properly.
Final words
It goes without saying that tracking someone's location should not be abused. The wild world wide web is a land of freedom. Live and let live. Respect the privacy of other users and only employ the techniques discussed here for your own protection.
Note! If you don't want to track the email sender's location, but simply want to check the validity of the contact, you can use Snov.io's Email Verifier . In a matter of seconds, you can verify questionable email addresses and clean your contact list of unpromising leads.
