# Problematic IP address fields

**URL:** https://meta.discourse.org/t/problematic-ip-address-fields/83785
**Category:** Feature
**Tags:** gdpr, privacy
**Created:** [March 25, 2018, 7:06am UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/problematic-ip-address-fields/83785 "2018-03-25T07:06:34Z")
**Posts on this page:** 1
**Showing post:** 8

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### Author: ![sam](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/meta/user_avatar/meta.discourse.org/sam/32/102149_2.png) [@sam](https://meta.discourse.org/u/sam)
#### Post date: [March 25, 2018, 11:47pm UTC](https://meta.discourse.org/t/problematic-ip-address-fields/83785/8 "2018-03-25T23:47:24Z")

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> [@riking](#):
>
> incoming\_links: stores timestamped IP address correlated with user ID and an exact post ID, topic ID, and Referer: header  
> search\_logs: stores timestamped IP address correlated with user ID and exact search term  
> topic\_link\_clicks: stores timestamped IP address correlated with user ID and clicked link

I am happy to strip IP address for logged on users for those 3 cases, I don’t see it as adding any extra value anyway cause we have user\_id.

If we want a log of all “historic” ip addresses a user had we need a different table for that. Storing IP addresses at random for logged on users is pointless.

Seems like and easy change to me, make ip\_address nullable on the table, and then scrub.

> [@RGJ](#):
>
> Maybe a good comparison is to look how a lot of US based online services are responding to SESTA right now

I feel this whole line of argument is dangerous and bad.

1. Remove IP address logging from X tables because it is pointless and adds no value and random liability.

VS

1. Remove IP address logging for table because reasons.

(1) is a much much stronger and valuable argument that applies universally. GDPR is intended to protect privacy, demonstrate how privacy is potentially impacted and then make a case for the change

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