[wp-trac] [WordPress Trac] #43588: Anonymize commenter IP address once a comment is no longer pending

[WordPress Trac]

#43588: Anonymize commenter IP address once a comment is no longer pending
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 Reporter:  allendav                           |       Owner:  (none)
     Type:  enhancement                        |      Status:  new
 Priority:  normal                             |   Milestone:  Awaiting
                                               |  Review
Component:  Privacy                            |     Version:
 Severity:  normal                             |  Resolution:
 Keywords:  gdpr needs-patch needs-unit-tests  |     Focuses:
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Comment (by websupporter):

 Hi,
 I am collaborating via the [https://profiles.wordpress.org/pluginkollektiv
 Pluginkollektiv] on [https://wordpress.org/plugins/antispam-bee/ Antispam
 Bee].

 We use the IP address for three different checks:
 * You can whitelist/blacklist countries and block comments which come from
 a specific country (we send an anonymized ip to an external service.
 currently [https://github.com/pluginkollektiv/antispam-
 bee/blob/1f1b46d0f1d7123f32d5fa229e2e16777d009d39/antispam_bee.php#L1817-L1823
 we anonymize ourselfs], lets see, if we could utilize the new anonymize
 functionality from core for this.
 * We check the local database if we have spam-comments from the same IP.
 We have altered this behavior in the last release and we start to save a
 hash (using `wp_create_password($ip)` in the meta data of the comment. We
 have to see, how this plays out for a couple of reasons (like its quite an
 expensive check). The options for us here right now is to get rid of this
 IP check completely or to strengthen it, because currently we are hooked
 into `comment_post` to save the data out of `$comment_data`. My thoughts
 here would be to abandon `$comment_data` completely and rely on our own IP
 detection.
 * The last check is called `fake_ip`.

 All those checks do not rely (or won't no longer regardless of your moves,
 as there are also some filters into play we need to consider, which are
 used by others to anonymize already) on the data given by `$comment_data`,
 but we use [https://github.com/pluginkollektiv/antispam-
 bee/blob/1f1b46d0f1d7123f32d5fa229e2e16777d009d39/antispam_bee.php#L2041-L2078
 our own implementation].

 With all this said, in regards of Antispam Bee, we are monitoring the
 moves you guys and girls do in core closely and are very happy you are
 taking the necessary steps. Thanks a lot for all your work. Even if you
 wouldn't save the IP at all, this wouldn't affect us. But I can only speak
 for Antispam Bee.

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Ticket URL: <https://core.trac.wordpress.org/ticket/43588#comment:19>
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