Real-time location tracking is available on Whatsapp, and you can share it with your contacts. When you are planning a meet-up or simply want to let your friends know where you are, this feature can be very useful.

In WhatsApp, using a live location is completely optional and has no impact on using any other features.

To appear to be somewhere else, you can, however, Fake your location in WhatsApp. This can come in handy when you’re planning a surprise for friends or family, playing a practical joke, or you just don’t want anyone to know where you are when you’re out and about.

Whatever reason you might have, keep reading to learn how to fake your location in WhatsApp.

Using Live Location In WhatsApp

With WhatsApp Live Location, you can share your location in real-time for a predetermined amount of time. You can trust that because this feature is end-to-end encrypted, only the people you share your location with will be able to see it.

You can turn live location on or off in WhatsApp depending on your needs. Here’s how to use it.

On Android

To use Live Location on Android:

1. Launch WhatsApp on your phone and open a chat with the person you want to share your location with.
2. Select Attach (the paperclip icon) and select Location.
3. Select Share Live Location and then Continue.
4. Select a duration that you want to share your location.
5. Select Continue to begin sharing.

On iOS

To use Live Location on iOS:

1. Launch WhatsApp and open a chat with the person you want to share your location with.
2. Tap the + button on the left side of the chatbox.
3. From the menu that appears, tap Location.
4. WhatsApp will then take you to a map. On this map is an option to Share Live Location. Go ahead and select it.
5. WhatsApp will ask you how long you want to share your live location for; select the amount that’s right for you.
6. Now you’re sharing your location!

For the time period you specified in Step 3 or until you manually stop it, WhatsApp will share your location. Select the Stop Sharing icon in the chat window and confirm your decision if you want to manually stop sharing your location.

When you share your location, your profile picture will appear on a map of the vicinity to indicate where you are. When you are stationary, your location will be periodically updated; when you are moving, it will be dynamically updated.

How to Fake Your Location On WhatsApp

Manually Fake Your Location on WhatsApp

1. Open a WhatsApp chat with the person you want to share your location with.
2. Select Attach (the paperclip or + icon) and select Location.
3. Select the search bar at the top of the map and type in your location of choice
4. Manually select a location from the map.
5. Your faked location will now be shared with the person you’re chatting with.

When I tested it, I showed up on the map where I clicked, but the additional address information was inaccurate and occasionally blank. This is not the best way to pretend to be somewhere else in WhatsApp because it is a bit of a giveaway.

Fake Your Location with a GPS Spoof App

Use of a GPS spoofing app is preferable. These have been discussed on TechJunkie before, and they are applicable here. You can use many of these apps that are available on the Google Play Store for this. Some are cost-free, while others are a few dollars. Install a good app on your phone that is inexpensive, has positive reviews, and is rated well.

You must have Developer Options enabled on your phone in order for these apps to function. To tamper with the GPS on your phone, the GPS will need permissions, and those aren’t covered by standard permissions.

Here’s how to pull it all together:

1. Open your phone and navigate to Settings.
2. Select About Phone and tap your Build Number seven times to enable. You should see a message that says ‘You are now a developer!’ if it worked.
3. Download and install a fake GPS app.
4. Allow it to access location and provide it the permissions it needs.
5. Enable the app to provide a bogus GPS location. Follow the steps at the top to use Live Location in WhatsApp.

After following these steps, your location should appear in the location that you chose in the spoofing app, and unlike faking your location manually, there are no clear giveaways that let people know you are spoofing your location.

Conclusion

Spoofing your location in WhatsApp can be helpful in a variety of circumstances, and by using the methods provided in this article, you can take control of your privacy as quickly and easily as possible.

Do you know of any other effective ways to fake your location in WhatsApp? Tell us about it below if you do!