How people can manipulate the location on the internet

When someone is in Paris or New York on social networks, you can imagine that it is a fact. But nowadays, it is possible to create a digital narrative that simulates being in a place even without ever leaving home. This article explains the main methods of manipulating on the internet, because people do it, and what risks this practice brings.

1. Manual location marker on social networks

Platforms like, Tiktok and Facebook allow you to mark anywhere – even if the person is not there. Examples include:

• Old travel photos using updated marking.
• Third party contents (videos and stories) mounted as if they were personal.
• Use of fake locations (“Check‑In ”) to give impression of real presence.

This behavior is common and has already been the subject of academic investigations under the term “location spoofing” or intentional falsification of location

2. Dating apps with fake GPS

Apps like Tinder and Bumble depend on real GPS to show proximity between people. But many use spoofing GPS applications for:

• Appear as if they were in another city or country.
• Increase possible connections or attract interest.
• Hide real location by protection or misleading intention.

This practice is not only possible: there are technical studies detailing the attack mechanisms via GPS

3. Spoofing in Location Games (Gamification)

Games like Pokémon GO, ingress or events with geolocation offer rewards based on physical presence. Some users:

• They use apps to simulate location and access exclusive items.
• They ignore games of games, unbalanced the experience of others and risking banishment.

Although it seems harmless, these techniques have already been studied in scenarios of “Location-Based Cheating”

4. Advertising and sales with misleading location

Advertisers can manipulate location to attract buyers:

• Vendors pretend to be in noble neighborhoods.
• Service providers say they meet regions where they are not.

This can configure commercial fraud and generate legal or reputational consequences.

5. Check‑in false in events, schools or companies

At corporate events, online meetings or even mandatory classes, some people:

• They are present without being physically present.
• They share fake live photos or geolocation with colleagues or bosses.

In formal contexts, this can be considered unethical conduct or even ideological falsehood.

6. Privacy Protection and Personal Safety

Not every manipulation is mistake – in many cases it is self -protection:

• Risk people use fake GPS to avoid persecution.
• Activists in authoritarian regimes use VPNs and false locations to escape surveillance.
• Women or abuse victims use fake location dating apps to protect themselves.

Here, manipulation has legitimate security and anonymity

7. Artificial Intelligence and Deepfake Geographic

With Generative Ia, it is becoming increasingly easier:

• Create realistic videos or images simulating another place.
• Set up digital avatars that “travel” virtually to famous destinations.

The border between real and artificial is increasingly blurred in this emerging scenario

8. Detection and scientific studies on false location

• Some studies raise how it is possible to detect manipulation:
• The large volume Bayesian analysis of tweets showed that it is possible to identify anomalous patterns of
• Models based on (Twitter, Weibo) can infer the real location of the user with high accuracy combining content and social network
• Recent research on use neural networks and deep learning (PCA‑CNN‑LSTM), with extremely high accuracy (over 99%)

These studies show that although it is easy to mislead, there are important academic advances in identifying this type of manipulation.

Motivations behind location manipulation

The motivations may vary:

RISKS AND CONSEQUENCES

• Impact on the mental health of the public: Creating unreal expectations leads to negative social comparison.
• Loss of confidence and reputation: followers or partners may feel fooled.
• LEGAL CONSEQUENCES: In commercial or academic contexts, there may be violation of contracts or rules.
• Data misinformation and distortion: False geolocalized data undermines research, crisis surveillance and reliable information

Manipulating the location on the internet is easy and is available to anyone, either for self -promotion, protection or simple joke. From simple use on social networks to advanced GPS techniques or geographical Deepfake, the practice is diverse and sophisticated. But there is hope: Scientific research already develops methods to identify signs of forgery and offer more security. When navigating the digital world, it is important to be critical and remember: not everything that seems real… It’s really.

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*This text does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the young Pan.