How to spoof GPS location on your device AngelRetp Follow Mar 16 · 12 min read

Well, first and foremost: why? Why would you need something like that?

If you’re a rebellious teenager or a notorious loner or privacy at all times kind of fellow (or maybe all of these) — you might want to geo spoof your location so that other people will think that you’re in a different place than you actually are. Or on a more serious note, maybe you are in an abusive relationship, and you’re trying to get away from someone. Maybe some annoying app is asking for your location and you don’t want it to track you since google maps is the only app you want to let your location be known to. Or maybe you hate google and all of its family members and avoid being tracked by a GPS at all. Perhaps you want to change your location so that something like a dating app thinks you’re a thousand miles away just to check if you need to move or not. Cheat your way into victory. Okay, maybe not cheat, but you can always bend the rules a little. You could also be a trickster who likes to trick your friends with fake vacations. Then this geo spoofing concept is for you! “Travel” to Dubai in a matter of lightspeed and check-in into a fancy hotel on Facebook. I bet all of your friends will be asking for presents. Geo spoofing will not get you out of that one. Or maybe you live in an area that is difficult to catch on GPS satellites, and you would like to set your real location for once. Whichever way it might be, geo spoofing might be just what you’re looking for.

What is the difference between mobile and PC location spoofing?

For desktops, you can spoof your location by completing a series of steps by configuring desired settings on your browser. It is more partial location spoofing as it does not offer complete anonymity. Other apps and software installed on your desktop can still access your location along with your ISP (Internet Service Provider). But given the fact that changing your IP address sometimes can be enough, spoofing on your computer can be easier than on your phone. However, depending on what option you choose, it can be quite a tedious process.

On mobile, especially on iPhones, it’s an entirely different ordeal. Mobile apps by default can have access both to your IP and fetch your location data from your GPS. That means, to fake your location on your phone, you need to get real good at lying to your GPS or keep it turned off indefinitely. Just like desktop location spoofing, this can be partial and not entirely anonymous.

How to spoof your location on your phone

How to spoof on android

There are a couple of scenarios of how this can be done.

Way number one

You could go straight to google play and try your luck with any of the GPS spoofing apps. There’s quite an array of those amidst everything else you can find on google play. I would recommend Fake GPS location because it’s the highest rating one, but the choice is still yours.

Get the app. You will need to enable the developer options on your phone. Go into your settings, scroll down, and select the system option. From there, choose ‘about phone’ and rapidly tap on the build number. After this, you will need to verify your lock screen security and then voila, your developer options will be unlocked. To locate them, tap the back button once and select the new Develop options item. Now that you’re inside the Developer options menu, first, make sure the toggle at the top of the list is turned on. Next, locate the Select mock location app option. Choose Fake GPS location or whichever app you installed on your device. Open the Fake GPS location app or whichever app you’ve decided to download. For Fake GPS location, you can either place your pin in a general location or search for a specific address. After that hit go, and you should be spoofing away. The next step is to try it out on some apps, so go enjoy the newfound freedom.

Way number two

Another way to spoof your android is by using a VPN. Some of you reading this article might already be familiar with the uses of VPNs, but to those of you who haven’t heard of this, I’ll explain in short.

VPN is a virtual private network. It allows you to create a secure connection to another network over the Internet. VPNs can be used to access region-restricted websites, shield your browsing activity from prying eyes on public Wi-Fi, and more. This is where the “and more” comes in. Usually, when it comes to VPNs, you can change your IP, which is your digital footprint, but one VPN, in particular, went a step further and made it possible to change your device’s physical GPS location. Surfshark VPN has an optional feature that can be enabled in the app settings. If you already use a VPN, you don’t have to worry about another third-party app to do the GPS spoofing for you. The feature’s working principle is straightforward: when the GPS spoofing is activated, any app’s request to access the user’s physical coordinates will be overridden by the coordinates of the selected VPN server. As far as I know, they are the only ones that managed to do this, so I recommend trying if you get the chance. Apart from the new GPS spoofing feature, they already have malware, ad tracker blocker CleanWeb, a data breach alert system HackLock, a private and ad-free search tool BlindSearch, and a free DNS resolver TrustDNS.

How to fake location on iPhones

Faking your location on iPhones isn’t as easy as on Android, but there are still a few ways and I will mention a few of them.

Way number one

By using iSpoofer. It’s a Windows/Mac program that’s free for three days, works with iOS versions up to and including iOS 13, is easy to use, and continues to work even after you unplug your device.

Download and install iSpoofer. Plug in your device into your computer, Open iSpoofer, and click Spoof. Search for a location or browse the map and then click exactly where the GPS should be faked. Select Move to instantly ‘move’ there.

Way number two

Another way to spoof your iPhone location without jailbreaking is to use your iPhone backup to edit a PLIST file. However, this method only works on iOS 10 and older.

Install the free 3uTools program. (This does only work on windows, you can use the similar iBackupBot program on macOS, but the following steps are only relevant for 3uTools (however, the same concepts below applies to that program as well).

Make sure iTunes is not open and then open 3uTools. Wait a few seconds for the program to recognize your iPhone. Open the iDevice menu at the top, choose Back up/Restore at the bottom of the screen, and then pick the Back up iDevice option. On the next screen, choose a location that you want or leave it at the default location. Select Back up Now. When the backup is finished, choose OK and exit the Back up iDevice window to return to the Backup/Restore screen. Choose the Backups Management option. Select the backup you just made. It should be at the very top of the list. Select the View button to open the iPhone backup in the Backup Viewer tool. Pick the App Document tab on the left and then open the AppDomain-com.apple. Maps folder on the right. To make finding this folder easier, select the File Name column to sort the list alphabetically. Navigate to the Library > Preferences folder and double-click or double-tap the com.apple.Maps.plist file. Go to the very bottom of the text file so that you can enter some information. Copy this and paste it directly above the final </dict> tag:

<key>__internal__PlaceCardLocationSimulation</key>

Directly below that line, make sure the following one reads:

<true/>

Make sure the <key> and <true/> tags are lined up. You can use the Tab key to space them over.

Use the Save button at the top of the plist Editor window to save the file. Select Save again when asked, and then OK. Exit these open screens: plist Editor, Backup Viewer, and Backups Management. On the Backup/Restore screen, choose the Restore Data option. Pick the latest backup at the top and then select the Restore Now button on the bottom right-hand corner of the screen.

(To restore an iPhone backup, you have to first turn off Find My iPhone from the Settings app: Go to iCloud > Find My iPhone to disable it.)

3. When the restore is finished, unplug your iPhone. Open the Maps app and search for the fake location you want to use. (Apple maps, not google maps or any other navigation app)

4. When the pin drops on the map, scroll through the menu at the bottom and tap the Simulate Location option. The fake location will work for other apps, too, not just Maps.

To use your real location again, just restart your iPhone.

Way number three

By using dr.fone — Virtual Location (iOS). Before moving, ensure to download this location spoofer for iOS and install it on PC.

Launch the iOS GPS spoof tool on your PC and go to the “Virtual Location” tab when you enter the main interface. Connect your iPhone to the computer and click on “Get Started” option on the screen. In the following window, the actual location can be easily found. If you can’t find it, click on the “Center On” icon (found at the lower right side) and the accurate location will be shown. From the three modes given at the upper right side of the screen, choose the third one to activate the “teleport mode”. Then, type the name of the location in the field and tap “Go”. When the system gets the location correctly, it will bring a small pop-up box on the screen. It can tell you the distance of the entered place. Click the “Move Here” button. Voila! You have successfully spoofed location on an iphone. Your iPhone will show the fake location now in the location-based apps.

Way number four

Download Xcode application. After the app gets installed, you need to launch it. You will notice the Xcode window on your screen. Setup a fresh project followed by clicking “Single View Application”. Once done, click on “Next”. You can now provide a name for your project and click on “Next”. Proceed to setup GIT on Xcode. You will now see a pop-up on the next screen asking “Please tell me who you are”. Also, there will be some GIT commands on the screen that need to be applied. Now, launch the terminal on your Mac and go along with these commands.

git config — global user.email “you@example.com”

git config — global user.name “your name”

(Make alterations on “you@example.com” and “your name” with your information.

6. Ensure to setup a development team and then establish a connection between your iPhone and the Mac.

7. Select your device in the build device option. While doing it, keep the device unlocked. When you do the entire thing accurately, you need to stay for some time as the program will process symbol files. Move your Location Head.

8. Now, go for the “Debug” menu. Followed by this, hit on “Simulate Location” and you can choose the location according to your preference. You are good to go now.

Way number five

The next method to spoof location on iPhone is by jailbreaking your device. Once the phone is jailbroken, you can make changes to most of the native settings in your device. However, this method can give a hard time as it depends on the iOS version you are using. I’m suggesting the ‘The Anywhere!’ app for this purpose.

Download the ‘The Anywhere!’ location faking Cydia app on your phone. Install and launch the app from your Home screen. Navigate for the location that you want to fake. Tap on it, and a red pin will appear on the address. Tap on the blue tab on the coming screen. You can now select the apps on which you wish to fake GPS location on iOS. Open the selected app now, and you could see the new location on it.

How to spoof your location on desktop

When it comes to spoofing your location on desktop your browser is where the action is at. Since the most popular browser nowadays is google chrome I’ll go through a few of the things you can do to fake your location away so your life could be ‘no snoop for marketing purposes or other’ zone.

Well, first of all, how does chrome know where you are?

Three things — gps, wifi, ip address. What you can do?

Way number one

Shut off access to GPS. This is related to that popup you get about a website asking to know your location. You could keep pressing the block button, or you could cut the head of the snake in your chrome settings.

First, click the menu icon to the right of the toolbar. It’s a row of three vertical dots. From the drop-down, click “Settings.” Scroll down to “Content Settings” and click it. Click “Location.” Toggle the “Ask before accessing” button. Voila, you’re a bit less tracked than before.

Way number two

Fake your location inside the browser. Spoofing your location in Chrome will not allow you to access Hulu from outside the U.S., but it will enable you to see regional news or static web content you would not usually be able to see. It’s worth mentioning that faking in Chrome is temporary, and you will have to do this each time you open a new browser session.

Go to this website and copy a random set of coordinates. Drag the red icon anywhere, and the Lat and Long will appear in the box above it. Open Google Chrome on your device. Press Alt + Shift + I to access Developer Tools. Select the three-dot menu icon in the top right of the pane. Scroll to “More Tools” and select “Sensors.” Change Geolocation to “Custom location…” Add the Lat and Long coordinates you copied earlier into the boxes underneath Geolocation. Reload the web page.

You can test the settings by opening up Google Maps. Rather than showing your home or last known location, it should zero in on the position marked by those coordinates you set. You cannot fix this permanently and will have to perform the above steps for every new browser session you open.

Way number three

By using a chrome extension, like Location Guard. It’s a free extension that adds “noise” to your location within Chrome. It’s a good enough geolocation to get your local weather or the news for the right part of the state. Your real location will be hidden behind your general region. They have a few cool settings depending on what you wanna do with your location. You can configure different settings for different sites, and it can be quite useful but also quite a bit of time to do. You can also set a fixed fictional location.

Way number four

Last but not least, a VPN. At least for those who are too lazy to do all those steps on chrome. Or for those tech-savvy cybersecurity fellows that enjoy spoofing their location along with encrypted traffic, torrenting, streaming all kinds of content, not only what’s available in your country. Fewer boundaries, less tracking your information for marketing purposes, and more free internet, please. At least it’s the way I am. There are many options for general VPN needs, but since we’re talking about GPS spoofing, Surfshark has a lil bit more to offer. GPS spoofing for androids, unlimited devices, cheap yearly plans, and other additional features that I already mentioned before, like Cleanweb and Whitelister. And the steps are quite simple. Go to their website or google store/app store, download the VPN, make your account and voila, enjoy the free internet for the next year, or maybe three.