Skip to content

How To Change Your Snapchat Location in a Few Simple Steps

Have you ever wanted to access geofilters from other cities or countries? Or keep your real location private on Snapchat? Changing your Snapchat location is easy to do in just a few simple steps.

In this detailed guide, we‘ll explain multiple methods for changing your location on Snapchat for iPhone and Android. Read on to learn how and why people geo-spoof on Snapchat, plus tips to stay safe while using location-sharing features.

Why Do People Change Their Snapchat Location?

Before we get into the how-to, let‘s look at some of the main reasons Snapchat users want to alter their GPS coordinates or hide their location:

Access Exclusive Geofilters

One of the biggest motivators is accessing geofilters reserved for specific places. According to Snapchat, there are over 1 million unique geofilters available globally.

Changing your location lets you unlock special filters for cities like New York, London, Tokyo or any other place you want to represent in your Snaps – even if you‘re not physically in that place.

Privacy and Security Concerns

Many people simply feel more comfortable not sharing their exact location at all times. According to research from Pew, over 60% of adults turn off location sharing due to privacy worries.

For teens especially, broadcasting location can potentially put them in unsafe situations. Using Ghost Mode or a VPN prevents unwanted location tracking.

Avoid Location-Based Ads

Like Facebook and Instagram, Snapchat uses your location data to serve geo-targeted advertisements. Marketers pay more to show ads to users in specific cities, countries or venues.

Spoofing your GPS coordinates makes it harder for Snapchat to pinpoint your location, cutting back on location-based ads.

Appear in Other Places

On the fun side, some Snapchatters simply want their Snap Map Bitmoji to show up in a different exotic destination like Hawaii or Paris. This takes creativity and custom geofilters to the next level!

Access Region-Locked Features

Snapchat has been known to roll out lenses, games, stickers and other features only available in certain countries initially. Changing your virtual location via VPN can help unlock these geo-restricted options.

Now that you know why people spoof locations on Snapchat, let‘s dive into step-by-step instructions on how to do it using the in-app settings or a VPN app.

How to Update Your Snapchat Location Settings

The easiest way to change your Snapchat location is to toggle the "Ghost Mode" setting right within Snapchat:

  1. Open the Snapchat app and swipe down on the Camera screen to reveal your Profile and the Snap Map.
  2. Tap the Gear icon in the top right corner to access your Settings.
  3. Scroll down and tap on "See My Location" under the "Who Can…" menu.
  4. Select "Ghost Mode" from the popup menu.
  5. Confirm that you want Ghost Mode enabled indefinitely "Until Turned Off."

That‘s all there is to it! Once Ghost Mode is on, Snapchat will stop showing your location on the Snap Map or sharing it with anyone else.

Understanding Snapchat Location Settings

In addition to Ghost Mode, Snapchat gives you a few different options when controlling who can view your location:

  • My Friends: Your location is visible to all friends on Snapchat.
  • Select Friends: You pick specific friends who can view your location.
  • Ghost Mode: Your location is hidden from everyone on Snapchat.

For privacy purposes, we recommend keeping Ghost Mode enabled at all times when not actively using location features. Otherwise, only share with a few trusted friends if needed. Never share your real-time location with strangers!

How to Spoof Your Snapchat Location with a VPN

In addition to the in-app settings, you can also change your Snapchat location manually using a VPN (virtual private network).

Here‘s an overview of how to spoof your GPS coordinates with a VPN:

  1. Sign up for a reliable VPN service like NordVPN or Surfshark.
  2. Download and install the VPN app on your iPhone, Android, or other device.
  3. Launch the VPN app and connect to a server located in your desired fake location.
  4. Open Snapchat once connected to the VPN and your location will mirror the server you picked!

VPN services work by masking your real IP address with one from the server location you select. This tricks apps like Snapchat into thinking you‘re in a different city or country.

You can change locations in an instant by switching VPN servers. But it‘s important to choose a VPN that works reliably with Snapchat and offers fast speeds. Avoid free VPNs.

Top 3 VPNs for Snapchat Location Spoofing

Based on extensive testing and research, we recommend these paid VPN services for changing your Snapchat location:

VPN Speed Reliability Price Link
NordVPN Very Fast Excellent $3.29/mo Get NordVPN
Surfshark Fast Very Good $2.49/mo Get Surfshark
ExpressVPN Fast Excellent $6.67/mo Get ExpressVPN

These premium VPN providers offer the best blend of speed, reliability, and server locations to access Snapchat from anywhere.

NordVPN stands out in terms of raw speed, which is vital for snapping and sharing quickly. Surfshark is extremely affordable. And ExpressVPN is consistently fast and reliable.

Staying Safe When Sharing Location on Snapchat

While Snapchat‘s interactive Snap Map provides fun ways to engage with friends, it‘s important to keep safety and privacy in mind when using any location-based social media.

Here are some tips to protect yourself:

  • Only share your location with close friends you know and trust. Never with strangers.
  • Use Snapchat‘s Ghost Mode whenever you don‘t need to actively share your location.
  • Avoid listing your Home and Work addresses in your Snapchat profile.
  • Regularly review your privacy settings and disable location access for apps that don‘t need it.
  • Never meet up in real life with people you only know from the internet. Be cautious even with Snapchat friends you don‘t know well.
  • Use a VPN to keep your IP address hidden from prying eyes or hackers.

Following basic safety precautions allows you to enjoy Snapchat‘s features without putting your privacy or safety at risk.

FAQs About Snapchat‘s Location Services

Let‘s wrap up with answers to some frequently asked questions about how Snapchat handles location data:

How often does Snapchat update your location?

Snapchat updates your location constantly whenever the app is open – usually every few seconds. If you enable Live Location sharing, it updates every minute (even when running in the background).

Can you see who viewed your location on Snapchat?

No, there is no built-in feature to see who has viewed your location on the Snap Map unfortunately. Snapchat provides no way to track location viewers.

Should you use a free VPN with Snapchat?

We don‘t recommend free VPN services for changing your Snapchat location, as most free VPNs lack the proper encryption levels, fast server speeds, and reliability to work well. Paid services like NordVPN or Surfshark are better options.

Does Snapchat block VPN usage?

Yes, Snapchat can detect VPN connections and may restrict certain activities as a result to prevent abuse. Be sure to choose a high-quality VPN designed to avoid VPN blocking.

Summary

As you can see, changing your Snapchat location only takes a few minutes using the built-in Ghost Mode or connecting through a VPN app.

This allows you to unlock geofilters worldwide, maintain privacy, avoid location tracking for ads, and explore Snapchat‘s interactive map in new ways.

We hope these detailed tips give you a better understanding of how Snapchat handles location while helping you geo-spoof worry-free. Stay safe and have fun on Snapchat!

Tags:
nv-author-image

Streamr Go

StreamrGo is always about privacy, specifically protecting your privacy online by increasing security and better standard privacy practices.