From e997059e2a1ed9778cc414f0c2ee4a0d21a2b93e Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Michael Reber <michael.reber@swissmakers.ch>
Date: Wed, 14 Jan 2026 19:13:46 +0100
Subject: [PATCH] External IP Lookup Disable Feature implemented with
 environment variable: DISABLE_EXTERNAL_IP_LOOKUP

---
 README.md                    | 22 ++++++++++++++++++++++
 pkg/web/handlers.go          |  9 +++++++--
 pkg/web/static/js/init.js    |  5 ++++-
 pkg/web/templates/index.html |  2 ++
 4 files changed, 35 insertions(+), 3 deletions(-)

diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index 9700e75..1427d3d 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -329,6 +329,24 @@ podman run -d \
 
 Access the web interface at `http://localhost:3080`.
 
+**Disable External IP Lookup** (Privacy)
+
+By default, the web UI displays your external IP address by querying external services. For privacy reasons, you can disable this feature using the `DISABLE_EXTERNAL_IP_LOOKUP` environment variable:
+
+```bash
+podman run -d \
+  --name fail2ban-ui \
+  --network=host \
+  -e DISABLE_EXTERNAL_IP_LOOKUP=true \
+  -v /opt/podman-fail2ban-ui:/config:Z \
+  -v /etc/fail2ban:/etc/fail2ban:Z \
+  -v /var/log:/var/log:ro \
+  -v /var/run/fail2ban:/var/run/fail2ban \
+  swissmakers/fail2ban-ui:latest
+```
+
+When set, the "Your ext. IP:" display will be completely hidden and no external IP lookup requests will be made.
+
 **Volume Mounts Explained**
 
 | Volume | Required | Purpose |
@@ -468,6 +486,10 @@ The **Fail2Ban Callback URL** is a critical setting that determines how Fail2Ban
 
 3. **Port Changes:**
    - When you change the Fail2Ban UI port (via `PORT` environment variable or UI settings), the callback URL automatically updates if it's using the default localhost pattern
+
+**Privacy Settings**
+
+- **External IP Lookup**: By default, the web UI displays your external IP address. To disable this feature for privacy reasons, set the `DISABLE_EXTERNAL_IP_LOOKUP` environment variable to `true` or `1`. This will hide the "Your ext. IP:" display and prevent any external IP lookup requests.
    - For custom callback URLs (e.g., reverse proxy or custom IP), you must manually update them to match your setup
 
 **Important Notes:**
diff --git a/pkg/web/handlers.go b/pkg/web/handlers.go
index 4fdf81e..b684351 100644
--- a/pkg/web/handlers.go
+++ b/pkg/web/handlers.go
@@ -1118,9 +1118,14 @@ func shouldAlertForCountry(country string, alertCountries []string) bool {
 
 // IndexHandler serves the HTML page
 func IndexHandler(c *gin.Context) {
+	// Check if external IP lookup is disabled via environment variable
+	// Default is enabled (false means enabled, true means disabled)
+	disableExternalIP := os.Getenv("DISABLE_EXTERNAL_IP_LOOKUP") == "true" || os.Getenv("DISABLE_EXTERNAL_IP_LOOKUP") == "1"
+
 	c.HTML(http.StatusOK, "index.html", gin.H{
-		"timestamp": time.Now().Format(time.RFC1123),
-		"version":   time.Now().Unix(),
+		"timestamp":         time.Now().Format(time.RFC1123),
+		"version":           time.Now().Unix(),
+		"disableExternalIP": disableExternalIP,
 	})
 }
 
diff --git a/pkg/web/static/js/init.js b/pkg/web/static/js/init.js
index 20f1f0c..fd42d9e 100644
--- a/pkg/web/static/js/init.js
+++ b/pkg/web/static/js/init.js
@@ -3,7 +3,10 @@
 
 window.addEventListener('DOMContentLoaded', function() {
   showLoading(true);
-  displayExternalIP();
+  // Only display external IP if the element exists (not disabled via template variable)
+  if (document.getElementById('external-ip')) {
+    displayExternalIP();
+  }
   
   // Initialize header components (clock and status indicator)
   if (typeof initHeader === 'function') {
diff --git a/pkg/web/templates/index.html b/pkg/web/templates/index.html
index bd22815..34417c0 100644
--- a/pkg/web/templates/index.html
+++ b/pkg/web/templates/index.html
@@ -116,10 +116,12 @@
         </div>
         <div class="flex flex-col sm:flex-row sm:items-center gap-3">
           <div id="serverSelectorContainer" class="min-w-[220px]"></div>
+          {{if not .disableExternalIP}}
           <div class="text-sm text-gray-500 sm:ml-2">
             <span data-i18n="dashboard.external_ip">Your ext. IP:</span>
             <span id="external-ip" class="font-medium text-blue-600 hover:underline cursor-pointer">Loading…</span>
           </div>
+          {{end}}
           <div class="flex flex-col sm:flex-row gap-3">
             <button class="bg-blue-500 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded hover:bg-blue-600 transition-colors flex items-center gap-2"
               onclick="openServerManager()">