This page in a nutshell: The ability to view the IP addresses used bytemporary accounts can be granted to non-admins who meet certain criteria. This tool is only for combatting policy violations and each use is logged.
Access to temporary account IP address information islogged. This log is viewable byCheckUsers only.
There are currently165 users with temporary account IP viewer rights, which together with Wikipedia administrators[a] makes for a total of 993 users with this permission.
Have made at least 300 edits to English Wikipedia[b]
Agree to use the IP addresses in accordance withFoundation policy, solely for the investigation or prevention of vandalism, abuse, or other violations of Wikimedia Foundation or community policies, and understand the risks and responsibilities associated with this privilege[b][d]
Admins are permitted to decline applicants who meet these criteria but are otherwise unsuitable for access to this tool.Stewards are authorized to make exceptions to the Foundation requirements (criteria 1–4) if someone needs access for a purpose that cannot be reasonably addressed by users who already have this access.
It is never a violation of the TAIV disclosure policy to make a statement that does not rely on use of the TAIV tool. In particular, this means thatpurely behavioral comparisons of TAs to old IPs or TAs to permanent accounts are not governed by that policy. (e.g.The edits atSun andMoon by ~2025-12345-67, 192.0.2.1, andUser:Example appear to be by the same person.)
However, TAIVs should take care not to give the impression that they are inappropriately disclosing TAIV information. Especially in the case of TA-to-IP behavioral comparisons, it is recommended to explicitly state that TAIV was not used.
Publicly linking a TA to another TA is allowed if "reasonably believed to be necessary". (e.g.~2025-12345-67 and ~2025-12345-68 are likely the same person, so I am counting their reverts together toward3RR, but notHey ~2025-12345-68, you did some good editing as ~2025-12345-67)
Publicizing an IP address gained through TAIV access isgenerally not allowed (e.g.~2025-12345-67 previously edited as 192.0.2.1 or~2025-12345-67's IP address is 192.0.2.1)
However, admins are allowed to make blocks that, by their timing, imply a connection between an account and an IP (e.g. indefblocking ~2025-12345-67 and -68 and then moments later blocking 192.0.2.1 for a week). However, the other restrictions discussed here still apply to the admin's block summary and any other public comments on the blocks.
And when "reasonably believed to be necessary", exceptions can be made at appropriate policy-enforcement venues. Because recent TAIV data can be seen by any other TAIV, this exception rarely applies to short-term cases, but may apply e.g. to subpages ofWikipedia:Long-term abuse. However, the disclosure should be revision-deleted as soon as it ceases to be necessary.
Saying that a TA isnot using a specific IP or range (e.g.~2025-12345-67's IP puts them far away from 192.0.2.1) does not explicitly violate the disclosure policy; but if a TAIV says this in one case, and does not say it in another, this can lead to editors assuming a connection in the latter case. Vaguer phrasing likeI do not see evidence that ~2025-12345-67 is evading a block is preferable.
Publicly describing TAs in relation to each other is allowed (e.g.~2025-12345-67 and ~2025-12345-68 are on the same ISP and geolocate to the same area,they both use proxies), but not in absolute terms (e.g.they are both onOrange and geolocate to France).
CheckUsers will generally not publicly link permanent accounts to TAs (since TAIVs and admins can see the IP behind a TA, this is equivalent toCUIP).
Admins are permitted to remove the temporary account IP viewer permission for misuse of the right, including the disclosure of temporary account IP addresses in violation of theAccess to Temporary Account IP Addresses Policy.
Additionally, the permission should be removed from editors who have been inactive for a year.[b]
^Requests are preferably made atWP:PERM/TAIV, but this is not a Foundation requirement. Admins are permitted to encourage qualified editors to submit an application. See also:Special:Diff/1308311575.
^This requirement is satisfied by editors checking a box in their preferences, stating they have read and agree to this condition. Because this is enforced by the software before editors can make use of the permission, editors are not required to state their agreement in their request.
Turn on the ability to display IP addresses of temporary accounts.