VPN is set to the country of the site/app.
I don’t see this as infuriating. It’s making sure you’re actually local. It’s location based. If you’re hiding your location they can’t verify that. It’s like complaining that Google Maps asks for location data on your phone.
Sounds like a design flaw. If you can't manually set a location, then the app is broken. I turn off and deny location requests for apps and websites, as most people should, because it's often a massive privacy risk.
But then that opens the door to anyone creating fake local ads by manually entering a fake location. If you do t want to have your location shared on a location based website maybe you’re in the wrong place. My two cents.
This door is already open, as GPS location is easily faked. Android, for example, has an easily-accessed developer setting for manually specifying a device location.
Geolocation data isn't authenticated or in any way secured against spoofing, so this isn't a security hole. And it's frequently wrong anyway (I am not now, nor have I ever been, in Ashburn, VA), so using it as the sole authority for "where are you?" and not providing a manual option is simply a bug; sloppy UX at best.
I think the OP is the buyer, but regardless, the problem is the same.
Post fake local ads for what purpose? You'd get no sales if someone realizes your listing is actually 500km away instead of local (if that's where they are looking).
All of the market sites I've used allows you to set a location. This can be where you live, where you can meet, or some other place you frequent.
If you do t want to have your location shared on a location based website maybe you’re in the wrong place.
I'm saying that the user should be able to enter the location they are searching in. Hell, I'll search all of Canada sometimes just because I know my immediate area won't have certain items. I've had no issues shipping as a seller, or getting something shipped as a buyer.
If you geo restrict too much, the app/market would be crap.
A scammer could post an item for sale in any number of locations trying to bait the scammed into a purchase.
But, I agree. We should be able to manually set the location.
A scammer could post an item for sale in any number of locations trying to bait the scammed into a purchase.
I'd think that anyone motivated to commit a crime would simply just spoof their location and do that anyway. The decision to not allow everyone else the option to manually select a location just punishes everyone except the scammer, and makes the app considerably less useful.
But I think this has less to do with preventing scams and more to do with data collection. I'd bet money on it! 🤑
Also a lot of dip shit scammers probably tried using the VPN before you so they’re banned now.
If it's only local, doesn't it make sense to block people from out of the area to prevent all the common scams?
It's probably nothing to do with using a VPN, you just need to connect from a local server (if available).
I might be wrong but I think the site is geo blocked. I’ve sent links to family that live outside of the country and they weren’t able to open them.
That's what the person you're replying to said.
Yeah this isn't infuriating and makes perfect sense. Unless your country is like 10 square miles or something.
I think it makes sense. VPN changed your location to somewhere there are no nearby users / deals / whatever. Not sure but maybe that's it?
My VPN server is located in the same country as the site (Ireland)
TIL Ireland is tiny
Are there multiple servers of your VPN in the country? Might be worth switching around, or even using a neighboring country instead, assuming that people from across the border shop there as well.
I’ve tried with a couple different servers but no luck (Proton VPN). I don’t necessarily need the VPN to browse here but I occasionally have it left on from other sites.
Just curious, what's the site called?
Adverts.ie
The website shows lots of items to me even though I'm in the USA.
Maybe the app's "Nearby" filtering is too strict, or the VPN strips out something important from your request that the app wants.
what does it say if you open it in browser
It's common to block an IP if the majority of traffic from that IP is not the kind of traffic you want.
Why do you need a VPN to access it? If you're protecting privacy, VPNs don't block browser-based tracking, only obfuscate where you're connecting from or preventing man in the middle type attacks from your ISP, but usually that can be better avoided simply by using secure DNS technology. Only other thing is hiding what sites you're connecting to from your ISP. If you can't change ISPs, that can be worked around by setting up a trusted, cheap VPS or something as your VPN exit point so you have your own IP address.
setting up a trusted, cheap VPS or something as your VPN exit point
I think this would likely have the same problem since they are probably checking whether the traffic is coming from a datacenter vs a residential connection
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