diff --git a/backend/linkpulse/app.py b/backend/linkpulse/app.py
index 69b9bf2..2d238d5 100644
--- a/backend/linkpulse/app.py
+++ b/backend/linkpulse/app.py
@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 import logging
+import os
 import random
 from collections import defaultdict
 from contextlib import asynccontextmanager
@@ -12,7 +13,6 @@ from fastapi.middleware.cors import CORSMiddleware
 from fastapi_cache import FastAPICache
 from fastapi_cache.backends.inmemory import InMemoryBackend
 from fastapi_cache.decorator import cache
-from fastapi_utils.tasks import repeat_every
 import human_readable
 from linkpulse.utilities import get_ip, hide_ip, pluralize
 from peewee import PostgresqlDatabase
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ load_dotenv(dotenv_path=".env")
 
 from linkpulse import models, responses  # type: ignore
 
+is_development = os.getenv("ENVIRONMENT") == "development"
 db: PostgresqlDatabase = models.BaseModel._meta.database
 
 
@@ -69,10 +70,11 @@ async def lifespan(_: FastAPI) -> AsyncIterator[None]:
         backend=InMemoryBackend(), prefix="fastapi-cache", cache_status_header="X-Cache"
     )
 
-    random.seed(42)
-    app.state.ip_pool = [
-        ".".join(str(random.randint(0, 255)) for _ in range(4)) for _ in range(50)
-    ]
+    if is_development:
+        random.seed(42)
+        app.state.ip_pool = [
+            ".".join(str(random.randint(0, 255)) for _ in range(4)) for _ in range(50)
+        ]
     app.state.buffered_updates = defaultdict(IPCounter)
 
     scheduler.start()
@@ -92,18 +94,20 @@ class IPCounter:
 
 app = FastAPI(lifespan=lifespan)
 
-origins = [
-    "http://localhost",
-    "http://localhost:5173",
-]
 
-app.add_middleware(
-    CORSMiddleware,
-    allow_origins=origins,
-    allow_credentials=True,
-    allow_methods=["*"],
-    allow_headers=["*"],
-)
+if is_development:
+    origins = [
+        "http://localhost",
+        "http://localhost:5173",
+    ]
+
+    app.add_middleware(
+        CORSMiddleware,
+        allow_origins=origins,
+        allow_credentials=True,
+        allow_methods=["*"],
+        allow_headers=["*"],
+    )
 
 
 @app.on_event("startup")
@@ -143,8 +147,8 @@ async def get_ips(request: Request, response: Response):
     Returns a list of partially redacted IP addresses, as well as submitting the user's IP address to the database (buffered).
     """
     now = datetime.now()
-    # user_ip = get_ip(request)
-    user_ip = random.choice(app.state.ip_pool)
+
+    user_ip = get_ip(request) if not is_development else random.choice(app.state.ip_pool)
     if user_ip is None:
         print("No IP found!")
         response.status_code = status.HTTP_403_FORBIDDEN
@@ -154,7 +158,7 @@ async def get_ips(request: Request, response: Response):
     app.state.buffered_updates[user_ip].count += 1
     app.state.buffered_updates[user_ip].last_seen = now
 
-    # Return the IP addresses
+    # Return the IP addresses   
     latest_ips = (
         models.IPAddress.select(models.IPAddress.ip, models.IPAddress.last_seen, models.IPAddress.count)
         .order_by(models.IPAddress.last_seen.desc())