How to Change Your Location With a VPN (and Why Some Apps Still Know Where You Are)

Connect to a VPN server in Italy and most websites will think you’re in Italy. Open a maps app on your phone and it will still put a blue dot on your sofa in Lyon. Both are working exactly as designed.

A VPN changes one location signal, your IP address. Devices and apps use several others. This guide shows you how to change your location properly with a VPN, then how to deal with the signals a VPN doesn’t touch.

The short version

1. Install a VPN app and connect to a server in the country you want.
2. In your browser, block location access for the site, or turn location off.
3. Clear cookies for the site (or use a private window).
4. Check the result with an IP and DNS leak test.

That’s enough for websites, streaming services and online shops. Apps that read your GPS, like ride-hailing, dating or location-based games, need more thought, and sometimes you shouldn’t try at all.

How websites and apps work out where you are

There are more location signals than people expect. Here’s what each one is and whether a VPN changes it.

The IP address is the big one. It’s what most websites look at first, and it’s what a VPN replaces. The rest you have to handle separately.

Step 1: choose and connect to a VPN server

Pick a VPN with servers in the country you need. Server count matters less than reliability, especially for streaming, which actively blocks VPN addresses.

In our database NordVPN leads at 4.63/5, with 6,274 servers in 104 countries and 5/5 on streaming. Surfshark (4.08/5, 65 countries) and Proton VPN (4.24/5, 65 countries) are strong alternatives. If you only want to change your location for browsing, Proton’s free plan works, but you can’t choose a specific server on it.

Once the app is installed:

1. Open the app and sign in.
2. Search for the country (or city, if the provider offers city-level servers).
3. Connect and wait for the “connected” status.

Try NordVPN with its 60-day money-back guarantee

Step 2: stop your browser from revealing your real location

Websites can ask your browser for your precise location. If you’ve ever clicked “Allow”, the site may still have permission, and your browser will happily share your GPS or Wi-Fi position even with a VPN on.

Chrome and Edge: open Settings, then Privacy and security, then Site settings, then Location. Choose “Don’t allow sites to see your location” or remove the specific site from the allowed list.

Firefox: open Settings, then Privacy & Security, scroll to Permissions, and click Settings next to Location. Remove the site or block new requests.

Safari on Mac: open Safari Settings, then Websites, then Location, and set the site to Deny.

On a phone, you can also turn off location access for the browser app entirely in your system settings.

Step 3: clear cookies and cached location

Many sites remember your country in a cookie. Even with a new IP address, they’ll keep showing you the old version. Clear cookies for that site, or open it in a private or incognito window after connecting to the VPN.

For apps, force-close and reopen them. For streaming apps, sometimes you need to log out and back in.

Step 4: check for leaks

Before you trust the result, check it. Visit an IP leak test site with the VPN on and confirm three things:

• your IP address shows the VPN server’s country
• your DNS servers belong to the VPN, not your internet provider
• there’s no WebRTC leak showing your real IP

Our IP leak check guide explains how to read the results. If DNS leaks, turn on the VPN’s DNS protection or switch protocol. All the VPNs we recommend here score 5/5 on leak protection in our tests.

Want to compare all VPNs side by side? Check our full VPN comparison table with scores across 18 criteria.

Changing your location on a phone

On iPhone and Android, the same steps apply: connect the VPN app, then deal with location permissions.

1. Connect to a VPN server in the target country.
2. In your phone’s settings, turn off location access for the browser or app you’re using. On iPhone that’s Settings, Privacy & Security, Location Services. On Android, Settings, Location, App location permissions.
3. Reopen the app.

That works for websites and many apps. It doesn’t work for apps that require GPS to function, which brings us to the hard part.

Why a VPN can’t change your GPS location

GPS is calculated by your phone from satellite signals. It never touches the internet connection a VPN encrypts, so no VPN can change it. Wi-Fi positioning works the same way: your phone sees the networks around it and looks up where they are.

Apps that depend on GPS (maps, ride-hailing, food delivery, dating apps, location-based games) will still see where you really are. Some also compare GPS with your IP address, and a mismatch can trigger extra security checks.

Android has a “mock location” setting in its developer options that lets a chosen app feed a fake GPS position to the system. iPhones have no equivalent for ordinary users. Be careful with this: many apps detect mock locations, and spoofing GPS breaks the terms of services like Pokémon GO, which bans accounts for it. Our Pokémon GO VPN guide explains where the line is.

Signals you can adjust (and the ones to leave alone)

Time zone and language. Some fraud and anti-bot systems compare your IP country with your device’s time zone. If you regularly appear in another country, matching the time zone avoids extra checks. For most people it doesn’t matter.

Account country. Your Apple ID, Google Play account and streaming subscriptions have a country attached, usually tied to your payment method. A VPN doesn’t change it. Changing the country of an account is a separate process with its own rules, which we cover in how to change your Google Play country.

Browser fingerprint. Screen size, fonts and other details can identify your device across IP changes. A VPN doesn’t hide that. See our browser fingerprinting guide if this concerns you.

Common reasons people change their location

Streaming your home services abroad. The most common one. Connect to your home country and your usual catalogue comes back.

Price checking. Flights, hotels and software can cost different amounts by country. A VPN lets you compare.

Getting around local blocks. In countries that block news sites or social networks, a VPN reconnects you to the open internet.

Privacy. Some people simply don’t want every site to know which city they’re in.

If you specifically need an American address, our step-by-step guide to getting a US IP address covers that case.

A note on the law and terms of service

Changing your IP location with a VPN is legal in most countries. What you do with it can still break rules: streaming services license content by country and say so in their terms, and some apps forbid location spoofing outright. Using a VPN to commit fraud, dodge sanctions or break local law is illegal wherever you are. Stick to the ordinary uses above and you’re on safe ground.

For a privacy-first option, Proton VPN combines Swiss jurisdiction, a KPMG-audited no-logs policy and 5/5 speed in our tests, from $47.88 a year (about $3.99 a month).