How to Use VPN to Change Location Quickly and Easily
Knowing how to use VPN to change location is a simple trick that unlocks access to content from around the world. Whether you’re trying to watch shows only available in another country, access region-restricted websites, or protect your privacy while browsing, a VPN makes it possible. In just a few steps, you’ll learn how to switch your virtual location and unlock the full potential of the internet — no passport required.
Does a VPN change your IP address?
Yes, it does! VPNs are an essential tool for online privacy and security, but there are a number of other benefits users can enjoy too. Perhaps the most useful of those is the ability to pretend you are in a different country. This is called masking or “changing” your IP. This is often referred to as geo-spoofing because the process involves fooling the websites and online services into thinking you are somewhere you are not.
Here are our top picks for a VPN that can change your location and fool any website into thinking you’re in another country:
Use a VPN, change your location and fool any website into thinking you’re in another country:
- NordVPN – Best for Spoofing – Getting another country’s IP address requires lots of servers, and NordVPN has plenty. Backed by powerful encryption, bypass any geoblock with ease.
- Surfshark – Smallish network, but well-tuned to spoofing past powerful censorship.
- ExpressVPN – Massive network, optimized for speed and good security. Works in China.
- PureVPN – Virtual servers offer more counties’ IP addresses than any other. Breaks the Great Firewall of China.
- IPVanish – Fast, lightweight, trustworthy–used by spoofers primarily for streaming.
- VyprVPN – Disappear completely online with the special Chameleon protocol.
There are a number of different reasons why this can be useful. It can help you to get around online censorship in your home country, access geo-restricted services form your home country when travelling or working abroad, and even save money when you are shopping online. In this article, we will explain exactly what geo-spoofing is, how it works, how you can benefit from using it, and most importantly of all, the best VPNs to use to do it.
Editor's Pick August 2025
Most Important Features to Consider Before Signing Up
No matter what reason you might have for wanting to pretend to be a different country using a VPN, the most important thing is to make sure you have signed up for the best VPN to do it with. There are lots of VPN providers on the market, but some are adept at the task than others. There are a few core criteria you can look at to help you find the No matter the reason you might have for wanting to pretend to be in a different country using a VPN, the most important thing is to make sure you have signed up for the best VPN to do it with. There are lots of VPN providers on the market, but some are more adept at the task than others. There are a few core criteria you can look at to help you find the best provider.
- Security and privacy – As a rule, many geo-restricted websites don’t like customers geo-spoofing access, so you should look for a VPN with strong security and privacy provisions to help prevent them from tracking you down.best provider.
- Server locations – There are numerous benefits to having the option to connect to many servers in various countries throughout the world. Make sure you pick a VPN with a healthy list to choose from.
- Connection speeds – There is no point connecting to an overseas server if the connection speed is too slow to do anything useful. Find a VPN with the best VPN connection speeds possible.
- Consistent connections – Some VPN services can speed up or slow down depending on how far you are from the server and how many other users are using the connection. But a high-quality VPN should offer no such issues.
- Server locations – There are numerous benefits to having the option to connect to many servers in various countries throughout the world. Make sure you pick a VPN with a healthy list to choose from.
- Connection speeds – There is no point connecting to an overseas server if the connection speed is too slow to do anything useful. Find a VPN with the best VPN connection speeds possible.
- Consistent connections – Some VPN speeds can speed up or slow down depending on how far you are from the server and how many other users are using the connection. But a high-quality VPN should offer no such issues.
- Security and privacy – As a rule, many geo-restricted websites don’t like customers geo-spoofing access, so you should look for a VPN with strong security and privacy provisions to help prevent them from tracking you down.
Comparison of the Best VPN for Spoofing Virtual Network Addresses
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- 24/7 Live Chat
- 24/7 Live Chat
- 24/7 Live Chat
- 24/7 Live Chat
- Netflix,
- Disney+,
- Amazon Prime,
- iPlayer,
- YouTube,
- Hulu
- Netflix,
- Disney+,
- Amazon Prime,
- iPlayer,
- YouTube,
- Hulu
- Netflix,
- Disney+,
- Amazon Prime,
- iPlayer
- Netflix,
- Disney+,
- Amazon Prime,
- iPlayer,
- YouTube,
- Hulu
- Netflix,
- Disney+,
- Amazon Prime,
- iPlayer,
- YouTube,
- Hulu
Top VPNs to Change Your Virtual Location and Hide Your Real IP
We’ve tested out all the major VPNs on the market, and have settled on the following providers as the very best for changing your network address to appear in a different country online:
1. NordVPN
- Very fast speeds make this a strong choice for 4K streaming
- No bandwidth caps
- Torrenting is explicitly permitted
- Retains no metadata of your browsing
- Live Chat Support
- Automatic server selection can be unreliable
- Apps can be a bit cumbersome to use
NordVPN has a huge network of servers with more than 7,900 available to all subscribers, located in 126 locations. They have top-notch security too, with a host of extra features, such as double data encryption and VPN over Tor, to make sure your data is secure. Being based in Panama means their privacy provisions cannot be beaten either.
The one downside to NordVPN is they can be a little expensive, especially with renewal pricing, but you definitely get what you pay for. They also have apps available on most devices and are another great provider for geo-spoofing.
Read our full NordVPN review.
2. Surfshark
- Every server optimized for unblocking Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and more
- All 800+ servers are P2P-friendly, with private DNS and obfuscation
- Unbreakable AES-256-GCM encryption on every connection
- VPN home jurisdiction in the British Virgin Islands is ideal for privacy
- 24/7 live chat ensures maximum uptime
- Speeds occasionally suffer a noticeable drop
- Power users may wish for more settings to fiddle with
Surfshark is an up-and-coming provider that has a few tricks up its sleeve. In fact, we easily rate it as one of the best VPNs for getting a foreign IP. While the number of total servers (3200+) isn’t as numerous as NordVPN’s, they still have plenty of options spread across over 100 countries. Moreover, Surfshark uses the most modern tunneling protocols, (OpenVPN, WireGuard, and IKEv2) and is locked down by an impenetrable 256-AES-GCM cipher.
When Surfshark detects you’re on a highly restrictive network, it automatically implements NoBorders mode. This is used to break through the toughest censorship – even the Great Firewall of China (Windows users also have access to the Shadowsocks protocol for greater penetration). Surfshark’s transparent logging policy ensures they never keep logs of your spoofing activity. Indeed, they physically can’t–all their servers are RAM-only.
3. ExpressVPN
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- Super fast servers
- Govt-level AES-256 encryption
- No personal information logs kept
- Live chat support is available
- High cost for month-to-month users
ExpressVPN is a market-leading provider and a great bet for pretending to be in a different country. They have a network of servers in 105 countries, though they don’t officially list how many actual servers they have. No matter which foreign country you may be from or where you are going, you will find a server that fits your needs. As their name suggests, they are renowned for their fast connections, but more crucially these speeds are consistent across their network.
They also offer strong 256-bit encryption, which is the nigh-unbreakable industry standard, and reliable privacy policies too, with no user logs guaranteed. Throw in easy-to-use apps available on almost all devices and three simultaneous connections with every subscription, and ExpressVPN has a great all-around offering.
Read our full ExpressVPN review.
4. PureVPN
PureVPN is another provider with a huge network of servers, weighing in at more than 6,000 servers in over 96 global locations around the world. Many of these are virtual servers, but they nonetheless work the same for most users. This allows you to easily find the closest connections to networks from foreign countries. PureVPN comes as part of an online security package so users will also benefit from ad blocking, malware protection, anti-virus software, and web filtering programs too.
Connection speeds are generally pretty fast and they offer Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS, and Android TV, as well as browser extensions for Chrome and Firefox. PureVPN is not the best for online security and privacy as they have a history of keeping some user logs, but for geo-spoofing, they are still one of the best bets around.
Read our full PureVPN review.
5. IPVanish
IPVanish is another favorite provider, thanks in no small part to their super-fast connections. They also have 2,400+ servers in more than 140 global locations which is perfect for users looking to pretend to be somewhere else. They also offer a no-user-logs guarantee, and with 256-bit encryption available as well, IPVanish really does offer a complete privacy package.
Their apps are beautifully designed and easy to use and available on almost every device, including the Amazon Firestick. With some great extra features like IP switching and DNS leak protection available as standard too, IPVanish is another great provider for geo-spoofers.
Read our full IPVanish review.
6. VyprVPN
VyprVPN is among the more affordable providers on this list and they offer a generous server network, with users able to choose from more than 700 servers in 70 different countries around the world. To top that offering off, VyprVPN actually owns every single one of their servers, so you always know who’s handling your data (a real rarity in the industry). Their connections are pretty fast too, although can slow down if you are connected to a particularly far-flung location.
If you subscribe to their premium package, you can take advantage of their ultra-secure Chameleon protocol too, which offers great all-around security, when combined with other best practices. VyprVPN is available through their dedicated apps on Windows, Mac OS, Android, iOS, and Android TV.
Read our full VyprVPN review.
What Is Geo-spoofing?
The commonly used term for pretending to be in a different country using a VPN is geo-spoofing. If you think it sounds technical, don’t worry–it really isn’t. Some websites, such as online streaming services, online retailers, and online news sites, offer different versions of websites and services to people in different countries. Other websites only offer access to their content to people in certain countries. Collectively, these restrictions are known as geo-blocks, and they are a huge bummer.
Both of these types of websites will look at the details of each visitor’s internet connection to determine if they should be allowed to view the site (or which site to direct them to). Geo-spoofing is a way to get around this and gain access to the site you want to visit. You do this by fooling these websites into thinking that you are in a different location. And, in order to do this, you need to use a VPN.
How Does a VPN Help You to Pretend to Be in a Different Country?
A VPN is primarily an online security and privacy tool. It works by redirecting all of your online data down an encrypted pathway and through an external server, before it reaches the websites and services you are connecting to. During this process, the data is then tagged with a different IP address.
This address is a piece of code, which can be used to identify the location of every internet connection. A VPN makes it very hard for a website to link your online activity back to your internet connection because they only have the address of the VPN server.
Most VPNs will offer a network of servers located in numerous different countries around the world. If you connect to a server in another country, your internet data is tagged with a computer ID from that country. For example, if you are in Canada and you connect to a VPN server in the USA when you visit a website, it will believe you are in the USA.
Ever been frustrated by the message “This item isn’t available in your country,” while trying to access content online? We’ve got you covered too! Discover how to bypass these geographical restrictions and enjoy your favorite content without any limitations. Learn more about how to fix “This item isn’t available in your country” issue using a VPN.
RELATED READING: How to Get a US IP Address for Free
How to Use VPN to Change Location for Better Streaming
The actual process of how to use VPN to change location is actually quite simple. But if you are a newcomer to VPNs, here is an easy-to-follow step-by-step guide on exactly how to do it:
- Firstly, you will need to choose your VPN provider. We have recommended 6 of the best VPN providers for geo-spoofing above. Follow the links to visit their website and sign up for the subscription package that best suits your needs. All you will need to do from there is to follow the onscreen instructions.
- Once you have signed up, download and install the VPN app or software onto your preferred device. Most VPNs offer multiple connections, so you download it onto all your devices and use them at the same time if you so wish.
- Once the app is downloaded, open it and then connect to a VPN server located in the country you want websites to think you are in.
- Wait a few moments for the VPN to connect. If you encounter any problems, just choose a different server and then try again.
- Once the VPN has connected, all you need to do is return to your web browser and continue using the internet as usual. Until the VPN is disconnected you will continue to appear as if you are in the location of the VPN server you have
What Are the Benefits of Geo-spoofing with a VPN?
While security and privacy are a VPN’s primary function, using it to pretend to be in a different country is another extremely popular advantage. This is because there are countless different ways that this ability can be used to your advantage. Here are a few of the main ones:
- Escape online censorship – Some countries, such as China, have comprehensive online censorship programs. Using a VPN to pretend your device is in a different country, can help you to evade online censors and access the internet unimpeded. Even countries like the US and the UK censor the internet to some extent, so people in those countries can benefit too.
- Evade online blocking in school, colleges, and workplaces – On a less sinister level, many schools, colleges, and workplaces also place restrictions on the type of content you can view on their networks. Again, a VPN allows you to pretend to be elsewhere to get around such blocks.
- Access geo-restricted content overseas – Many websites around the world only make their content available in certain countries. This is known as geo-restriction. But by using a VPN to change location to where the sites can be accessed, it is possible to evade these geo-restrictions and access all websites no matter where you are.
- Choose regional sites to visit – Many big companies will use your IP Address to direct you to a regional version of their site. For example, if you visit Amazon in the USA, you will be sent to Amazon.com. However, in the UK, you will automatically be pushed to Amazon.co.uk. With a VPN, you can pick the one that suits you best.
- Save money – Some sites will charge different prices for the same product in different countries. This means that it is possible to use a VPN to save money when buying things online. You may need access to domestic credit cards or delivery addresses, but if you can overcome these hurdles it is possible to use a VPN to change your virtual location and make significant savings online.
What Are the Risks Involved with Spoofing?
While most websites don’t like you using a VPN to get around their geo-restrictions, the majority are unable detect it. Moreover, there is not a lot that they can do about it. A few streaming services, such as Netflix and the BBC iPlayer have taken steps to try and block VPN users from accessing the service. Some VPNs will still work, but you will need to check with your provider to see if there are any extra steps you need to make to ensure these services stream properly.
Other services may stipulate in their terms and conditions that using a VPN to geo-spoof is not allowed. Online betting sites are notorious for this. These sites will not be able to tell if you are doing this, but should your VPN connection drop (which they sometimes do) you could get in trouble. It is therefore always advisable to use a kill switch to make sure that if your VPN connection does drop, your internet connection will immediately cut out too.
If you are using your VPN to evade online censorship in the UK or the USA, the punishment for getting caught will usually be a written warning from your ISP, but you may face interruptions in your service in more extreme circumstances. But if you are evading censorship in countries with more oppressive regimes, the potential repercussions of being caught could be much more severe.
How to Use a VPN for More Than Just Hiding Your IP
Besides the uses we’ve already covered, such as accessing geo-restricted content, VPNs have some very practical uses too. Here is a brief overview of some of the other common uses for both personal and business needs.
1. Business Level VPNs
It’s quite common for corporate networks to require VPN use to access their servers or data. This is a great way to help control access, keep the network secure, and have strict permission requirements for employees and users. It’s also ideal if the employees are spread in various geographic regions. Meaning all employees, no matter their global location, can still securely access the company’s network.
2. Avoiding Price Discrimination
Price discrimination based on your network address, location, and other personal factors is a bigger problem than many people realize. This is basically when you’re trying to buy something online and the price changes or is different for you vs. the price for someone else. VPNs help you avoid most aspects of dynamic pricing. This is especially common for travel purchases (such as buying airline flights and hotel accommodations). You can potentially find much better deals when using a VPN.
Here are some tips for using a VPN to avoid price discrimination:
If you have an active account with the entity you’re buying from, be aware that the data they have saved on your account can still be used against you when you log in. Ideally, you’ll want to shop with guest checkout or with online stores you don’t already have an established account with.
- Choose a VPN with ad and tracker blocking, which further protects your privacy and avoids data collection from shopping sites.
- Try different server locations to see if regional pricing is a factor in what you’re trying to buy.
- Be sure to use a VPN when shopping online from public Wi-Fi, to keep your activities private.
- Clear your cache and cookies before you shop, so that your activity history is erased.
Move Without Moving: 4 Alternative Ways to Switch Your Location
While a VPN is usually considered the best choice for changing your location, there are other methods that work, too. Here’s a brief overview of each:
- Use a Tor browser: The Tor browser functions by encrypting and sending your browsing traffic through three randomized servers, called Tor nodes. You don’t usually get to choose your specific location (unless you manually configure the exit nodes), but your real IP will be hidden and you will appear to be located in a different, random location when you browse the web.
- Use a proxy server: While proxies don’t have the same level of anonymity and security that VPNs do, they can hide your real identity and make it seem like you are located elsewhere.
- Use SmartDNS: This is when your DNS queries are rerouted through a server in a different location. It can help you with geo-restrictions but it doesn’t encrypt your data or traffic, so it lacks the privacy features of a VPN.
- Use browser extensions: Certain browser extensions may be used to spoof your location in a pinch.
The Bottom Line: Change Your Location, Change the Game
In the end, figuring out how to use VPN to change location is really quite simple. All you need to do is to find a reputable VPN service, and then use this VPN to access servers all across the globe. This will allow you to access geo-restricted content, to stream without limits, and to avoid things like price discrimination, simply by activating your VPN.
FAQs
This process may differ, depending on the VPN provider that you choose. But, in general, all you need to do is:
Choose and sign up with a trusted VPN provider, like NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, PureVPN, or IPVanish.
Download the app or open the desktop platform and follow the on-screen prompts to connect to the VPN with your device.
Your internet traffic will be automatically be routed through the provider’s servers once you connect. So, all that is left to do is to choose a server in a different country and confirm the change.
There are a few possible reasons why your virtual location is not changing as expected. Some troubleshooting tips to consider:
Your VPN connection may have failed or dropped. Try double-checking that you are actually connected to the correct server.
Your browser may have held on to information about your real location. Try clearing the cache.
Your location settings are overriding the VPN. Disable your location services/ GPS and try again.
The simplest way to check whether your virtual location has changed, is to visit a third-party site, like whatismyipaddress.com. Of course, you can also just try to dive straight in with geo-restricted content. If you are able to access a site, platform or app that you were not able to access before, your virtual location has probably been altered and you are free to browse and scroll without the imposed limits.
Yes, there are some free VPNs that can help you stay anonymous online (and to keep your real location hidden). Beware, however, that not all free services are made equal. Some free services may sell your personal information to unknown parties, or face a lot of downtime, or even just have a limited amount of servers that you can connect to. This is why we recommend sticking to the well-know, reputable names – even if they come at a slightly higher price point.
If you need a VPN for a short while when traveling for example, you can get our top ranked VPN free of charge. NordVPN includes a 30-day money-back guarantee. You will need to pay for the subscription, that’s a fact, but it allows full access for 30 days and then you cancel for a full refund. Their no-questions-asked cancellation policy lives up to its name.
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