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How To Fake or Spoof Your Location in Google Maps

How To Fake or Spoof Your Location in Google Maps

Google Maps is a fantastic app for navigation. You can even share your current location with your friends or family members using the app so that they know about your whereabouts. But there can be situations where you need to spoof your location on Maps. Maybe you want to trick your friends into thinking you’re somewhere other than where you are. So, how can you fake your location in Google Maps?

How Does Google Maps Determine Your Location?

Like many location-based apps, Google Maps uses a combination of tools to find out where you are. It will access the data from your phone’s GPS, Wi-Fi SSID, and cell tower geolocation to get surprisingly accurate data about your location.

Even if you have Wi-Fi and GPS turned off, Maps can triangulate the signal strength of surrounding cell towers to make an educated guess of your location. Finally, if it is connected to the Internet, your phone has an IP address which can indicate what part of the world you are in.

For Google Maps to be completely blind to your location, you must revoke its access to your location. 

Now that you know how Google Maps determines your location, you can fake the data it reads to spoof where you are. If spoofing your location from your PC, enable country lines in Google Maps if you are trying to fake your whereabouts to a specific place.

How To Fake or Spoof Your Location in Google Maps

Note that both methods mentioned below will only work for Android phones. It is not easy to spoof your location on an iPhone. Some third-party apps claim to enable this, but we won’t recommend using them. 

1. Using a Fake GPS App

You can fake your location on Android using one of the many GPS spoofing apps available on the Google Play Store. Some are more feature-rich than others, but they will all get the job done. In general, the higher-rated the app, the better it works. We recommend using Fake GPS Location as it is a popular app. 

For this to work, you need to enable the hidden Developer Mode on your Android phone. For this, open the Settings menu on your phone and navigate to About Phone > Software info. Tap the Build Number seven times. A message should appear saying, “You are now a developer.”

With Developer mode activated, you can use an app to fake your location. 

  1. Launch the Settings app on your phone and tap System
    Android About Phone option
  2. Select Developer Options
    Android Developer options
  3. Scroll down and tap on Select mock location app. 
    Android Settings Select mock location app option
  4. Press the Fake GPS app. 
    Android Fake GPS app option in Select mock location app menu
  5. Open the Fake GPS app and move the map to wherever you want to appear. 
  6. Hit the green Play button in the bottom right corner. 
    Fake GPS Location Changer

Now, Google Maps will show your current location based on the Fake GPS app data. You can also use this method to fake your location on Snapchat Map

2. Using a VPN

Another way to fake your location in Google Maps is to use a VPN from a different region. Many good quality providers offer endpoint servers in different locations across the world. Find a provider with a server close to where you want to appear and go with that. This method also works if you want to spoof your Google Maps location from your PC.

This will take a little research, but the top-tier VPN providers have hundreds of endpoint servers in hundreds of cities worldwide. It shouldn’t be challenging to find one near you. Install the VPN app on your phone, and choose a server near where you want your location to appear. For better results, turn off the GPS on your phone.

As IP addresses are assigned by region and not by city, the two data points will correlate enough for Google Maps to be confident it knows where you are. You can also use this method to fake your location in Google Chrome.

Final Thoughts

Spoofing your location on Google Maps is easy to do. Whether you want to use it to prank your friends or have more serious reasons, by following the steps outlined in this article, you can convince Google that you are anywhere in the world. You can use the same trick to share your fake location on WhatsApp with your friends or family.

FAQs

Q. Can you change your location on Google Maps?

A. Yes, you can change your location on Google Maps using a GPS spoofing app or a VPN. While you can fake your location on Google Maps using a VPN, you can’t select a particular spot and set it as your current location. Instead, it only allows you to change your region by assigning you a virtual IP address.

On the other hand, you have more control over the location when you use a GPS spoofing app. It lets you set any spot on the map as your current location.

Q. How can I share my mobile location on Google Maps?

A. The process of sharing your current location with another Google Maps user is pretty straightforward. Open Google Maps > your profile icon > Settings > Location Sharing and select the time and person you’d like to share your location with.

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8 thoughts on “How To Fake or Spoof Your Location in Google Maps”

Nina Nina says:
How can I spoof my location on an iPhone?
George says:
I have in the past been able to edit my GPS location to appear somewhere else on Google maps. I don’t know how I did it and I’m sure they probably got rid of that option but it was possible last year, April of 2022. I set my location from where it was in Oxford to where I wanted it to be in Lapeer Michigan. I kind of did it by mistake just playing around with settings and then shared the location also by mistake to someone who was terrified of me.
Sassy Savage says:
Is there a way to change your location for only one app, as in for a texting app or dating app? Any of the apps that you need to show your location.
Celeste says:
I found this amusing, but more so intriguing and simply interesting. I’ve got to give it a shot and try it out for myself. *Fingers crossed!* (& ty btw!)
Pat stan says:
If somebody is spoofing you with live location sharing is there any way to safeguard or cancel out to find out their real location
Stephanie Field says:
If you already started sharing your location in Google Maps, can you fake your location?
rebecca says:
Is it possible to fake real time coordinates in google maps?
Josh says:
Love your site lots of awesome great information thank you

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Ronil Thakkar

Jan 7, 2024

Ronil is a Computer Engineer graduate who has a knack for writing about consumer technology. He has been covering news and guides about consumer electronics for around three years. His work has appeared on esteemed publications such as MakeUseOf, 91Mobiles, FossBytes, and Greenbot.

89 Articles Published

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