The top-notch Android smartphones come with a built-in GPS for tracking your location and rocking navigation apps like Google Maps. But hey, there are moments when you don’t want your phone playing detective on you. That’s where faking your location on Android becomes pretty useful.
Faking your Android location is a nifty trick when you want your phone to act like it’s chilling in another spot. It’s great for accessing content that’s geo-restricted or just amping up your privacy game. Here’s the lowdown on how to spoof your location on Android. Even though you can handle a bunch of stuff on an Android device with just a tap, switching up your location isn’t as simple. Android doesn’t come with a built-in setting that lets you easily change where you are. That’s why we turn to third-party apps to get the job done.
To fake your location on Android, you’ve got two routes. The first one rolls with a VPN app, and the second one dives into a location spoofing app. We’ll walk you through both methods in this guide.
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Spoof your location using a VPN
A VPN (virtual private network) hooks you up with a sort of digital tunnel between your Android gadget and a virtual server, forming a secure, encrypted network connection. With a VPN, your data gets a disguise, making it tricky for your ISP or the websites you hit up to keep tabs on you. Privacy boost!
Here’s another cool trick with a VPN – you can fake your location. VPN services have servers scattered across the globe, giving you the power to choose any part of the world to trick your location. Before you dive into the steps, grab one of the top-notch VPN apps for Android, and let’s get rolling.
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How to spoof location using third-party apps
If you’re not down for a VPN app to handle your internet connection and just want to mess with your location, go for a location-spoofing app. The Play Store’s got a bunch of them, and we suggest checking out the GPS Emulator app—it’s got a solid rating.
- Get into Developer Options on your Android phone. Head to Settings, then tap About phone.
- At the bottom, locate Build number and tap it seven times until a pop-up saying You are now a developer shows up.
- If your phone runs the latest Android build, confirm your phone’s password when prompted.
- Go to Settings, then either System > Developer Options or just Developer Options.
- Scroll down and tap the Select mock location app setting.
- Choose the location spoofing app you downloaded.
- Open up the location spoofing app and pick the fake location you’re aiming for.
- You might get asked to grant the app location permissions. Hit Allow to give it the green light.
Time to put an end to the location spoofing on your Android. If you’re using a VPN app, just fire up the app and switch off the VPN connection. For the location spoofing app, pull down the Notification Center and hit the Stop button to take a break from the trickery.