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You can change your iPhone’s location in three ways. Use a VPN to change your IP address, turn off Location Services to hide your GPS location, or change your Apple Account country to switch your App Store region.
For most people, a VPN is the way to go. Using one of the best VPNs lets you appear in another country, so you can access streaming libraries and websites from that region. It won’t change your GPS location, though. Apps like Maps and Find My will still show where you really are.
Below, we walk through each method step by step.
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Budget-friendly VPN that lets you connect unlimited devices at once, which most VPNs cap at 10 or fewer
4,500+ servers across 100 countries with proven fast speeds, even on distant connections
Includes a built-in ad and tracker blocker, so you get cleaner browsing without a separate tool
You may already be familiar with iPhone Location Services. This feature tracks the current location of your iPhone, allowing Apple and third-party apps to provide you with location-based services.
For example, using an iPhone app such as Maps or Google Maps to get directions from your current location to a specific address would require using Location Services. This would enable the app to determine your current location and then create a route to an address from that location.
In general, it’s often more challenging to change your location on an iPhone, iPad, or Mac than on an Android device. Apple has more restrictions, whereas the Google Play Store offers easy access to apps like Fake GPS Location.
It’s possible to spoof, or change, your iPhone’s actual location with an app, but we don’t recommend it.
This is because many of these spoofing apps come from unreliable sources or promote potentially unsafe strategies. This could include downloading an app that’s not available from the official Apple App Store, downloading a misleading app, or jailbreaking your phone.
Here’s an example of a misleading GPS-spoofing app on the App Store:
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The low ratings should be an immediate red flag. From the reviews, it’s clear that the app doesn’t accomplish anything close to changing your phone’s location.
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In many cases, it makes more sense to adjust your location settings or use a VPN. If you also use Android, Surfshark has a GPS Override feature that can change your GPS location to match your VPN server.
Budget-friendly VPN that lets you connect unlimited devices at once, which most VPNs cap at 10 or fewer
4,500+ servers across 100 countries with proven fast speeds, even on distant connections
Includes a built-in ad and tracker blocker, so you get cleaner browsing without a separate tool
Follow these steps to change your location using a VPN:
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Your iPhone is now connected to a server in another location. Websites and apps that check your IP address will see that server’s location instead of yours. That’s usually enough to access streaming libraries in other regions. A VPN won’t change your GPS location, though. Apps like Maps and Find My will still show where you really are.
You need to choose a VPN that offers an iOS app. Otherwise, you might not be able to use the VPN from your iPhone.
 NordVPN |
 Surfshark |
 Total VPN |
|
| Best for | Best overall VPN | Best value | Best for beginners |
| Starting price | $3.49/mo | $2.49/mo | $1.59/mo |
| Number of devices | 10 | Unlimited | 5 |
| Server count | 8,400+ servers in 160+ countries | 4,500+ servers in 100 countries | 1,800+ servers in 80+ countries |
| Streaming support | |||
| Learn more | See NordVPN Plans | See Surfshark Plans | See Total VPN Plans |
Changing your Apple Account country or region (formerly Apple ID) switches which App Store you shop in. It also affects what’s available in apps like Apple Music and Apple TV. It doesn’t change your GPS location or IP address. It’s mostly useful if you’ve moved to a new country.
Before you start:
Once that's complete, follow these steps:
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Some apps, music, and shows might not be available in your new region. Redownload anything you want to keep before you switch.
Turning off Location Services doesn’t change your phone’s location, but it should keep your location private. Turning off Location Services is a quick and easy way to turn this feature off for all apps on your iPhone. This essentially prevents your phone from sharing its location with Apple and any apps that utilize Location Services.
Follow these steps to turn Location Services off on your iPhone:
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You might choose to turn off Location Services only for specific apps if you don’t want those apps to know your phone’s location. This will only affect the Location Services settings of the apps you choose to change.
Follow these steps to turn off Location Services for certain iPhone apps:
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If you have an Android phone, Surfshark's GPS Override feature can change your GPS location to match your VPN server.
The iPhone’s location settings are called Location Services. This is essentially the GPS feature on your iPhone, which is required for many Apple and third-party apps to function correctly.
If you have Location Services turned on, it will use certain features (where available) to track the approximate location of your device:
Certain apps use Location Services to offer their location-based services. This is common with any map or navigation app. However, game apps and other apps may also require your location for certain features to function correctly.
For example, Pokémon Go uses your current location to generate a game map with a virtual location as you walk around in real time. Different Pokémon may appear depending on your device's location.
You have the option to turn off Location Services at any time. Turning Location Services off will essentially stop Apple and certain apps from tracking your phone’s location. You also have the option to disable Location Services for specific apps.
The primary reason you might want to change your location settings is to prevent Apple or apps from tracking your location. Apart from this, you may want to reduce the likelihood that GPS-related usage is draining your battery or using data, although this might not be a concern unless an app is actively using Location Services (e.g., using Find My to share your location or Waze to navigate to a destination).
Knowing how to change your location on an iPhone can be handy if you’re concerned about privacy or want to spoof your GPS for another reason. If you’d rather not have your iPhone tracking your location, it’s easy to turn off location services in your settings.
If you want to appear in another country, use a VPN instead of a GPS spoofing app. A VPN changes your IP address, not your GPS. But your IP address is what many websites and streaming services use to figure out where you are.
Legitimate VPNs are also safer than most spoofing apps. For our recommendations, check out our guide on the best VPNs for iPhone and iPad.
Yes, but it depends on which location you mean. A VPN changes your IP location, which is what many websites and streaming services see.
Changing your GPS location on iPhone is harder. iOS has no setting for it, and many GPS spoofing apps aren’t trustworthy.
On Android, yes. Surfshark offers a GPS Override feature that allows you to change your GPS location.
On iPhone, there’s no built-in way to do it, and we don’t recommend third-party spoofing apps.
The easiest way is to use a VPN, which changes your IP address to another city or country. If you want to hide your location instead, turn off Location Services for all apps or just specific ones. To shop in another country’s App Store, change your Apple Account country or region.
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