How to Spoof your Location

Ever wondered why so many apps ask your permission to know your current location? People often take online privacy for granted. This makes them susceptible to risks such as online surveillance and stalking. One should always be concerned about their online actions, which can lead to a trail of digital breadcrumbs – compromising your privacy and identity.

One of the measures to be considered in this regard is spoofing your location online. Along with countless other ways, location spoofing is a measure that works best in protecting you from surveillance and stalking. Further, location spoofing lets you bypass geo-restrictions – allowing you to access content restricted in your locality.

Why Would You Fake Your Location?

Think about the numerous services and applications that feed on your location. Whether it’s for security reasons or recreational purposes, faking your location comes with its own set of advantages.

Dating

Faking your location on a dating app can get you results outside your physical radius and match with someone available elsewhere. You might be looking for people outside your area/city if you’re travelling to a destination or plan on moving there in the future. Setting a different location can keep you ahead in the dating game.

Gaming

GPS powers Location-based games such as Pokémon GO. If you’re not in the mood to physically head out and catch Pokémon characters, you can simply connect to the VPN service and travel anywhere around the globe. This will trick your phone into believing you’re in a particular location while you’re comfortably sitting on your sofa at home.

TV Shows/Movies

Online streaming services like Netflix and Hulu host a vast catalogue of TV shows and movies, but most of them are subject to geo-restriction. If you’re in a region where the catalogue is limited, connect with a VPN to unlock TV shows and movies unavailable in your region. For example, connect to the US IP address to access local US content from anywhere in the world.

Deals/Discounts

Several deals and discounts are taking place at a given time. However, not all of them are available in each region. By spoofing your location, you can avail deals and discounts that are unavailable in your region. For example, if there’s a deal on a product on Amazon’s US store and you reside in the UK, you can connect to the US IP address and avail the discount instantly.

Online Privacy

Faking your location is an excellent way of obscuring your online identity. You can virtually travel around the globe while sitting in a location.

You can also use your fake GPS location to fool your family or friends in your location-sharing app, hide your actual location from apps that request it, and even set your actual location if GPS satellites aren’t doing a great job finding it for you.

GPS Spoofing Problems

While GPS Spoofing can be fun, it isn’t always helpful. Since GPS spoofing isn’t a device native feature, it’s not like you can tap a button to get it going. Also, spoofing your GPS location doesn’t always work for each app on your device that feeds on your location.

Installing a fake GPS location app on your device means that all apps that need your location data would use the fake location. If you’re using a fake location to avail of deals/discounts in a particular region, other apps would also assume you are in that region. This can get annoying as all your preferences would change each time you change your location.

If you’re tricking your device to believe you’re in a particular location, it will affect not just one but all the apps installed on your device. Things like weather, maps, family-based location sharing, checking-in and other location-essential apps would get confused.

Faking GPS Location on Android Smartphones

Here’s how you can fake your GPS location on an Android device:

  • Head over to Google’s Play store > Fake GPS Location – GPS Joystick.
  • Once installed, launch the app and tap the ‘Set Location’ option.
  • Open the map to select the fake location of your choice via the help of the Latitude and Longitude line in GPS Joystick.
  • Hit Start > Draw Permission Required > Settings.
  • Select Permit drawing over other apps and go back.
  • Hit Start, enable a mock location.
  • Head over to the phone’s Settings > About > locate the Build Number. Keep tapping the Build Number until you enter Developer Mode.
  • Head back to your phone’s Settings > Developer Options > under mock location, tap GPS Joystick.
  • Head over to the GPS Joystick app and tap Start.

To check if your new location is active, head over to Google Maps. Once there, you will be able to see your updated location.

Faking GPS Location on iPhone

Unlike an Android phone where you can conveniently fake a GPS location, iPhone requires more effort. You’ll have to use a computer, and it only works with iPhones running iOS 12 or older.

  • Install iTools on a computer and connect your iPhone to the computer.
  • Open iTools and click the Virtual Location button.
  • Type the location of your choice to fake the location and press Enter.
  • The faked location would move on the map. Click Move Here.
  • Once done, exit iTools and disconnect your iPhone from the computer.

iPhone Location Spoofing

Another software enables you to fake your GPS location, and that too requires a computer. It’s worth mentioning that you want to do this without jailbreaking your iPhone.

The app is called iSpoofer, and it’s available on Windows and Mac. The trial period of the app is free for three days, which is more than you need to fake your GPS location on an iPhone. The app works well with iPhone and iPad devices.

  • On a Windows or Mac device, download and install iSpoofer.
  • Once installed, launch the app and tap the ‘Set Location’ option.
  • Plug your iPhone into your computer > open iSpoofer> select Spoof. In case a message appears about the three-day trial, select Continue Trial.
  • Tap OK when prompted to download an iOS Developer Disk Image file.
  • Now, choose the location where you want the GPS to be faked on the map.
  • Select Move to hover to a location.

That’s it. Your fake location has been updated.

Get Secured Now Because your Privacy Matters

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