There are numerous reasons to change your PC’s location, more precisely, on Google and Google Play Store, a process that is also known as ‘geo-spoofing.’ This means you get to hide your actual location for the sake of your security and privacy. The easiest way to do this is by using a trusted VPN service.
The reasons you should change your location on these services include an app in the Google Play Store that is not available in your region, to see news as citizens of another country see, or simply because you’re concerned about your security and privacy online.
Here are our best picks for the best VPNs for Android (or iPhones and Windows if you need it).
Change Your Location in Google and Google Play Store
With a VPN (Virtual Private Network), it’s rather simple to change your Google and Play Store location. Just follow the steps below to do so:
- Download a VPN app
- Launch it and change your IP address location to wherever you want it to be
- Start browsing Google or Google Play Store from the new location
How to Test Whether the Location Changed or Not
If you’d like to see where Google thinks you are, simply google anything and scroll down to the bottom of the page. You’ll see there an indication as to the location that it is using to curate its search results on the page. The indication also points out that the location is obtained from your Internet access.
The Google Play Store has a similar process. If you visit the page and scroll down to the bottom of it, you’ll find the ‘Location: [your country]’ section there. Some people like to change their location to have access to content in various languages or find apps and games that do not appear on the Google Play Store for their country because of geo-restrictions.
What Happens When You Change Your Location in Google with a VPN
Using a VPN may sound complicated, but it’s actually a very simple and straightforward process. The best VPN providers are easy to install and incredibly easy to use. They offer lots of servers in distant places across the world and works by creating an encrypted tunnel of data between your device and the VPN server.
Hence, by choosing the VPN server in the location you want to geo-spoof, you can appear to be located there. For instance, if you choose to connect to a server in London, the rest of the Internet, including Google and Play Store, will have it appear like you’re connected to a device from that location, and not your actual location.
When you perform the Google search we mentioned above, it confirms the location to be in the United Kingdom, London.
Changing Your Location in Google Play Store
The change is also confirmed when you use the Google Play Store, which demonstrates that you are in the chosen location. The pricing will also change to GBP and not USD, so depending on the pricing and the exchange rate, the change can be extremely favorable.
For many reasons, using a VPN proves to be an effective and easy way to bypass geo-restrictions and access domestic content from other countries while located elsewhere. Moreover, because Google knows almost everything about each user, including their location, carrying out a general Google search will only provide those results specific to their geographic location.
