Geolocation settings¶
Geolocation settings control how BimBeau Privacy Analytics resolves country and city information for geolocation reports.
Good to know
Geolocation is useful for aggregated audience trends. It is not an exact personal location tool and should not be used as a precise identity or location signal.
Where to find geolocation settings¶
In the WordPress admin area, open BimBeau Privacy Analytics → Settings → Geolocation.
Geolocation source¶
The Geolocation source setting lets you choose how BimBeau Privacy Analytics resolves locations.
| Source | What it means |
|---|---|
| Local GeoLite database | Uses a local GeoLite MMDB database downloaded through the official BimBeau GeoIP Database Service manifest. This is the default mode in the settings interface. |
| MaxMind API credentials | Uses live MaxMind API requests with configured MaxMind credentials. |
Local GeoLite database¶
Local database mode uses a GeoLite database stored in this WordPress installation for geolocation resolution. Country and city reports require installing the local GeoIP database from Geolocation settings. Local lookups do not send visitor IP addresses to BimBeau.
Use Download GeoIP database for the first installation or when a previously installed database is missing or unreadable, and Update GeoIP database when the database is operational. When an administrator installs or updates the database, BimBeau Privacy Analytics contacts the official BimBeau GeoIP Database Service to fetch the manifest and database archive, verifies its SHA-256 checksum, decompresses the MMDB file, and replaces the local file only after validation succeeds.
Automatic database updates¶
The Automatic GeoIP database updates setting uses manual updates only by default. Administrators can update the database manually or explicitly choose an automatic update frequency. In manual-only mode, the plugin does not schedule GeoIP database downloads, retries, or manifest requests.
Available frequencies can include:
- manual updates only;
- every 15 days;
- every 30 days;
- every 45 days;
- every 60 days;
- every 3 months;
- every 6 months;
- every year;
- every 2 years.
The exact options can vary by plugin version.
Update now¶
Use the manual database button to request an immediate local GeoIP database install or update. This is useful during first setup, after correcting a failed update condition, or when you want to refresh the database before the next scheduled check.
Database status fields¶
When local database mode is active, BimBeau Privacy Analytics can display status fields such as:
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Current state | The current local database state shown by BimBeau Privacy Analytics |
| Last attempt | When BimBeau Privacy Analytics last tried to update the database |
| Next scheduled GeoIP update | When BimBeau Privacy Analytics plans the next automatic GeoIP database update, or indicates that no automatic update is scheduled |
| Last successful update | When the database was last updated successfully |
| Database size | The local database file size |
| Last error code | The most recent error code, when an error is available |
| Retry count | The number of retry attempts currently recorded |
Temporary local database unavailability should not block the rest of BimBeau Privacy Analytics. When an update attempt fails, an existing readable local database remains available for lookups while the status fields report the failed attempt.
MaxMind API mode¶
When MaxMind API credentials is selected, the screen can ask for:
- MaxMind Account ID;
- MaxMind License Key.
Use Test MaxMind connection to check whether the configured credentials can be used.
Important
Do not share MaxMind account IDs, license keys, or screenshots that expose credentials publicly.
Accuracy limits¶
Geolocation depends on available technical signals and the selected data source.
Country-level trends are usually more reliable than city-level details. City-level data can be incomplete, approximate, or unavailable for some visits.
Use geolocation to understand audience distribution, campaign reach, and broad regional trends rather than exact visitor locations.
Related report¶
Open Geolocation to review country and city trends.
Related settings¶
The configuration assistant can start one explicit GeoIP database download. This one-time action does not enable automatic GeoIP updates.
First configuration assistant¶
The assistant can trigger one explicit local GeoIP database download. This action does not schedule automatic updates. Continuing without local geolocation opens a confirmation and leaves core traffic measurements available without geographic information.