Anonymous Access
Most RIPE Atlas API endpoints can be accessed without any authentication. This makes it easy to explore the API and retrieve public data.
What You Can Access
Any read operation on public resources works without authentication. For example, you can list probes, view measurement metadata, and fetch results for public measurements.
GET /api/v2/probes/
If you attempt to access a resource that requires authentication, the API returns HTTP 403 Forbidden.
Public and Non-Public Objects
Both Probe and Measurement objects have an is_public field that determines their visibility:
- Public objects (
is_public: true) — visible to everyone, including anonymous users - Non-public objects (
is_public: false) — only visible to the object's owner (with a valid API key)
Data Obfuscation
Certain data is obfuscated or restricted regardless of authentication status.
Geographic Coordinates
Probe geographic locations are always obfuscated for all users, including authenticated probe hosts. A random offset of 80 to 400 metres is applied to the reported latitude and longitude. This is a privacy measure that applies universally — no API key or permission level bypasses it.
IP Addresses
IP address visibility depends on the probe's public status:
| Data | Public Probes | Non-Public Probes |
|---|---|---|
| Full IP address | Visible to all | Only visible to the probe's host |
| IP prefix | Visible to all (if known) | Visible to all (if known) |
Non-public probes hide their IP addresses from everyone except the probe's host. However, the IP prefix (network block) is visible to all users for both public and non-public probes, when it is known.