X, the social network formerly known as Twitter, recently announced that its voice and video calling feature was rolling out for free to all users. Several news outlets immediately expressed consternation, claiming that X’s default settings were a privacy disaster. Calls made via X would, by default, expose users’ IP addresses to each other.
But why does IP address exposure matter? Should you be concerned about it? Are there settings you should change? And what about other messaging and calling platforms—are they safe? Let’s break it all down.
In this article:
Every device connected to the Internet has a public IP address (or IP for short). By default, your IP is shared automatically with every site you visit, and in every e-mail you send (from most mail apps). You can think of your IP like a home address; it’s how Internet services know where to send the information you request.
IP addresses typically reveal your general geographic location, such as your city, county, state or province, or country.
In some cases, however, IPs may reveal much more specific information about you. For example, if you’re connected to the Internet from a college campus, others may be able to identify from your IP address that you’re currently at school. Internet service providers (ISPs) sometimes group blocks of IP addresses by neighborhood; a reverse IP lookup could pinpoint a location on a map that’s just a few blocks away from your home.
Naturally, there are some situations in which one may want to avoid exposing any such information. For example, if you’re a victim of stalking or domestic abuse, you’ll want to prevent your abuser from finding out where you are. You may also want to avoid revealing your IP address to black-hat hackers, who could try to exploit your home router, if it’s vulnerable.
The best way to keep your IP address private at all times is to subscribe to a trusted VPN service—and leave it on all the time.
There are many VPN providers to choose from; here are the ones we trust:
By leaving a trusted VPN running all the time, your real public IP address will only be known to the VPN provider—not to others on the Internet. Using a VPN is a great way to protect your privacy, and also to protect your security when connected to public Wi-Fi hotspots.
To manage your X/Twitter settings related to audio and video calling, follow these steps:
To manage your WhatsApp settings related to audio and video calling, follow these steps:
To manage your Telegram settings related to audio and video calling, follow these steps:
Note that Telegram also warns that relaying calls through its servers “may decrease audio and video quality.”
To manage your Signal settings related to audio and video calling, follow these steps:
To manage your Telegram settings related to audio and video calling, follow these steps:
Once again, Threema warns that enabling this setting “May affect call quality.”
Note that Apple’s FaceTime system and Facebook Messenger both use peer-to-peer connections for every call; there isn’t any way to disable this. Therefore, using a VPN is the only way to avoid exposing your IP address during calls over Facebook Messenger or FaceTime. See above for the list of VPNs we trust.
We discussed this topic on episode 334 of the Intego Mac Podcast.
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