3 Minutes to Mock GPS Location with Popular Apps

Most apps that we use regularly make use of our phone's location. Social media accounts apply it to tag posts, images, and other content with where you are. Some apps use your position to find friends close by or find people in your area with similar interests.

There are some instances, though, where you want to fool your phone into thinking you're somewhere else to make more friends, or for any other reasons.

Fortunately, when these situations arise, you should know that you can mock GPS location. Read on to find out how!

What Is Mock GPS Location?

Your smartphone uses an advanced system called GPS (global positioning system) to know where you are. While the details of GPS are beyond this post's scope, the basic idea is that it uses the triangulation of satellites to pinpoint precisely where you are. Unless you turn this system off, your phone knows where you are and any app with permission to access that location, also knows where you are!

In Android operating system, mock GPS is a hidden developer feature. you can mock GPS location for testing purpose, so your device appears to be somewhere else in the world. Except this reason, you might want to access content that's only available in another country. Or, you might want to hide your location!

When you mock your GPS, you can set your phone (and subsequently all your apps) to think you're in New York when you're really in Paris. As you can see, having the ability to mock GPS on Android is a powerful capability that you could probably either use right now or will find useful in the future. It's pretty easy to do, both on Android and iOS.

How to Mock GPS Location on Android Devices?

The Android operating system is incredibly versatile. Used by billions of devices worldwide, Android lets you mock your GPS location with relative ease. To fool your Android phone into thinking you're somewhere else in the world, you need to complete the following steps.

Step 1. Get a mock GPS app. We'll go over some of the most popular options later.

Step 2. Enable developer mode on your device by going to Settings -> About phone and tap on the Build Number option 7 times.

Step 3. With developer options enabled, go into the Developer menu in Settings and look for the mock location app section. Set the mock location app to the one you downloaded in the first step.

Step 4. Go to the Locating Method section of the Settings app, and set it to Phone only. Androids are intelligent and will use other information (like wifi networks) to figure out where you are. That information will be real, so you need to restrict your phone to use the GPS only (which comes from the mock GPS location Android app you downloaded earlier).

Step 5. Spoof your location by opening the mock GPS app and setting your position there.

There are a few popular Android APKs for mocking GPS locations. Here are 3 of them that you might want to consider.

1 Mock GPS with Joystick

This app will let you set your location, but what makes it especially cool is the fact that it has an on-screen joystick. You can move your position around using that control. It's straightforward to simulate movement (e.g., walking) by using the on-screen joystick.

2 Mock GPS Pro

Compatible with some of the earliest Android versions (1.6+), Mock GPS Pro is a no-frills simple, elegant way to change your location. Its intuitive interface and fast search results make it a joy to use overall. While there are no fancy controls (unlike the joystick above), Mock GPS Pro is the perfect app for setting your location as quickly as possible.

3 Mock Locations

If you want to make your phone think you're walking along a path (perfect for Pokemon Go players), then Mock Locations is the right mock GPS app for you. With a powerful, intuitive, and straightforward interface, this app makes pretending to walk around a breeze (so you can hatch your Pokemon, for example, from the comfort of your home!).

How to Mock GPS on iPhone Devices

If you have an iPhone, then you're in luck! Mocking GPS on your iPhone is even easier than for Android users. Part of the reason it's so easy to mock your iPhone's location is that you can use iMyFone AnyTo.

iMyFone AnyTo lets you change your GPS location with ease. You can instantly make your iPhone think you're in Paris, Amsterdam, New York, or anywhere else you want. And, since it's at the GPS level, apps won't tell the difference. It’s very easy to be used in moking location.

1,000,000+ Downloads

Amazing Features of iMyFone AnyTo

• Mock GPS location on iPhone by one click.
• Work with all iOS devices, even iOS 16.
• Compatible with all applications that are location-based.
• Simulate movements with walking, running, driving, or bicycling speed when play AR games.

Try It Free

To start using iMyFone AnyTo, please follow these steps.

Step 1.Download, install, and run iMyFone AnyTo on computer. With iMyFone AnyTo loaded, click the Get Started button.

Step 2.If prompted, unlock your iPhone or iPad and trust the connection on your device.

Step 3.Click on the Teleport Mode button (in the upper-right side). Type a destination you want to teleport to in the upper-left textbox within the app, and hit enter. Or select a spot on the map via zooming in/out the map.

Step 4.When the location box comes up, verify the location and coordinates. Press Move when you're satisfied.

That's it! Your iOS device will now "magically" think that you are somewhere else on this globe.

Other Information about Mock GPS You May Want to Know

There are a couple of pieces of information that you might want to know.

First, for Android users, because you're enabling GPS from a developer setting, the app can know that the location is a mock GPS signal, not the real one. For Android 17 and below, this information comes from "Settings.Secure." For newer versions of Android, an app can ask if the location is from a mock provider. An app using the developer settings is a mock provider, so this is true.

There isn't much way around this, unfortunately. If you're willing to root your device, you can enable mock locations without using developer options. If you need to use an app that's "too smart," rooting might be your only option.

Second, if you merely don't want people knowing where you are, you can disable location services on your phone. Instead of having a unreal location, your phone will report no GPS signal. Android users should go to Settings -> Security & location. Look for the Privacy header and tap on Location. You should see a toggle for "Use location". Set that to off.

iPhone users can disable this via Settings -> Privacy -> Location Services. Change that to off to prevent apps from knowing where you are. You can even have a finer level of control and disable specific apps from having access to your GPS.