How to Fake a GPS Location on Your Phone (2024)

This article explains how to spoof a GPS location on iOS and Android. In most cases, faking the phone's location applies to every location-based app on your device.

Android Location Spoofing

Search for "fake GPS" on Google Play, and you'll find many options, some free and others not, and some requiring root access. One app that doesn't need you to root your phone—so long as you're using Android 6.0 or newer—is called FakeGPS Free, and it's my favorite choice for changing my phone's location. It's straightforward to use, as you'll see:

1. Install FakeGPS Free. It works on Android 4.4 and up.

2. Open the app and accept the initial prompts to let the app send notifications and access your location.

   In recent versions of Android, select While using the app (older versions might call this something different) on the first prompt, and then ACCEPT if you see the advertising message.

3. If the tutorial starts, tap OK to get through it, then choose Enable on the message at the bottom about mock locations.
   

   

4. Choose Developer Settings to open that screen, tap Select mock location app toward the very end of the page, then select FakeGPS Free.

   

   If you don't see this screen, turn on developer mode, and then return to this step. In some Android versions, you have to put a check in the box next to the Allow mock locations option on the Developer options screen.

5. Use the back button to return to the app. Search for the location you want to fake on your phone (you can also drag the map to place the pointer somewhere). If you're making a route, tap-and-hold on the map to drop place markers.

6. Tap the play button at the bottom of the screen to enable the fake GPS setting.
   

   

   You can close the app and open Google Maps or another location app to see if your GPS location has been spoofed. To get your real location back, press the stop button.

If you're interested in trying a different Android location spoofer, we've confirmed that the following free location changing apps work much like FakeGPS Free: Fake GPS, Fly GPS, and Fake GPS Location.

Another method is to use XposedFramework. You can install an app, such as Fake My GPS, to let certain apps use the pretend location and others use your real location.

iPhone Location Spoofing

Faking your iPhone location isn't as easy as it is on an Android device—you can't just download an app for it. However, software makers have built desktop programs that make this easy.

Fake iPhone or iPad Location With 3uTools

3uTools is the best way to fake your iPhone or iPad location because the software is free, and I've confirmed that it works with iOS and iPadOS 16.

1. Download and install 3uTools. This was tested on Windows 11, but it works in other versions of Windows as well.
   

2. With your iPhone or iPad plugged in, select Toolbox at the top of the program, and then VirtualLocation from that screen.
   

   

3. Select somewhere on the map, or use the search bar, to choose where you want to fake your location.
   

4. Select Modify virtual location, and then OK when you see the "succeeded" message.
   

   If you see a prompt about Developer Mode, follow the steps on the screen to turn that on.

   

   Restart your device to pull real GPS data again.
   

Fake iPhone or iPad Location With iTools

Another way to spoof your iPhone's location without jailbreaking is with iTools from ThinkSky. Unlike 3uTools, it also runs on macOS and can simulate movement, but it's free only for a limited time. It works with iOS 16 and older versions.

1. Download and install iTools. You might have to select Free Trial at some point before it fully opens.

2. Plug your device into your computer and navigate to Toolbox > Virtual Location.

   

3. If you see this screen, select the image in the Developer Mode section to agree to download the iOS Developer Disk Image file.
   

   

4. Search for a location from the top of the screen, and then select Go to find it on the map.

5. Select Move here to instantly fake your location.

   

You can now exit the Virtual Location window in iTools as well as the program itself. If you’re asked whether to stop the simulation, you can choose No to make sure that your fake GPS location stays even when you unplug your phone.

To get your real location back, return to the map and select Stop Simulation. You can also reboot your device to immediately start using its real location again.

However, remember that you can fake your phone's location with iTools only within the 24-hour trial period; you'll need to use an entirely different computer if you want to run the trial again. The fake location will remain as long as you don't restart your device.

Why Would You Fake Your Location?

There are lots of situations where you might set up a fake GPS location, both for fun and for other reasons.

Maybe you want to change your location so that something like a dating app thinks you’re a hundred miles away, perfect if you’re planning to move somewhere and want to get ahead of the dating game.

Spoofing your location might also come into play when using a location-based game like Pokémon GO. Instead of having to actually travel several miles away to pick up a different Pokémon type, you could trick your phone into telling the game that you’re already there, and it will assume your fake location is accurate.

Other reasons to set up a mock GPS location might be if you want to "travel" to Dubai and check in to a restaurant you've never actually been to, or visit a famous landmark to trick your Facebook friends into thinking you're on an extravagant vacation.

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

GPS Spoofing Problems

Before getting started, please know that although it can be a lot of fun to fake your location, it’s not always helpful. Plus, because GPS spoofing isn’t a built-in option, it isn’t just a click away to get it going, and location fakers don’t always work for every app that reads your location.

If you install one of these apps on your phone to use it for, say, a video game, you’ll find that other apps that you want to use your real location with will also use the fake location. The game might very well use your spoofed address to your advantage, but if you open your navigation app to get directions somewhere, you’ll have to either turn off the location spoofer or manually adjust your starting location.

The same is true for other things like checking in to restaurants, staying current on your family-based GPS locator, checking the surrounding weather, etc. If you’re tricking your location system-wide for everything on your phone, it will, obviously, affect the location in all your location-based apps.