How To Change Chrome Browser Location Country
How to Change Your Location in Chrome & Firefox (spoof …
When you launch Firefox or Chrome browsers, they automatically employ geolocation services that can pinpoint where you’re located. This is used for various purposes, including enabling you to use map services, tagging social media posts with your location, and serving targeted ads based on where you are at a given time. However, there are plenty of situations in which you’d prefer to hide your location and even change (spoof) it, such as when you want to access geo-restricted content or simply maintain your privacy.
Thankfully, there are various methods you can use to do this, including using a VPN, manually spoofing your location, or using a dedicated browser extension. You may need to use more than one method to bypass multiple detection methods. We’ll delve into all of these options in this post.
How Firefox and Chrome can detect your location
First, let’s take a look at how Firefox and Chrome know where you are.
One of the easiest ways for Firefox, Chrome, and any other online service to tell where you’re located is through your IP address. This is a unique set of digits (and symbols in the newer IPv6) that identifies each computer connected to the internet. Part of the IP address can be used to determine your location. As such, masking your real IP address and replacing it with another one can spoof your location, making it appear that you’re located somewhere else.
However, some browsers have other methods that can decipher where you are. For example, they can use nearby wifi networks to geolocate a device even without an IP address. Turning off wifi and Bluetooth can be one option, but the likelihood is that you’ll need one or both of these, so it’s simply not an option for most users.
Using a VPN will enable you to easily change your IP address, replacing your existing one with another from a location of your choice. However, this may not bypass other geolocation services used by the browser. To overcome this issue, you can manually change your location in your browser or use an extension such as Location Guard.
Use a VPN to change your location in Firefox or Chrome
A Virtual Private Network (VPN) works by encrypting your internet traffic and tunneling it through an intermediary server. The two major benefits of a VPN are:
Encryption: The encryption factor means your internet traffic is completely secure and no one can decipher it, even if they manage to intercept it. This applies to ISPs, government agencies, cybercriminals, and anyone else who might be snooping on your activity.
Location spoofing: Because your traffic is tunneled through an intermediary server, you will be assigned an IP address from that server. When using a VPN, you can choose the location of the server you connect to and hence select where your IP address is from.
Note: the VPN will only spoof your location in terms of your IP address. So even when you’re using a VPN, your browser might be able to detect your location. As such, you may need to still manually spoof your location within the browser or use an extension like Location Guard (more on that below).
You’ll probably notice that some VPNs come with dedicated browser extensions for Firefox, Chrome, and other browsers. These can be great for location spoofing, but note that most of these do not encrypt your internet traffic when used alone.
One extension that’s a bit different from the others is the addon provided by ExpressVPN. Its Chrome and Firefox extensions act as remote controls for the device-level VPN apps, but they also automatically adjust the browser’s geolocation services. As such, the detected location matches that of the VPN server you’re connected to. This means that you don’t need to do anything else except connect to your chosen VPN server.
How to spoof your location using a VPN
Even if you’ve never used a VPN before, setting one up is very straightforward. Here’s how to change your IP address in Firefox or Chrome with a VPN:
Choose a provider, select a subscription term, and submit your payment. (We recommend NordVPN)
Download the appropriate VPN software for your device. Most reputable VPN providers offer native apps for Windows, MacOS, iOS, and Android.
Log in using your username and password (which will be provided when you signed up).
Connect to a VPN server in the location of your choice. For example, if you want to watch US Netflix, you’d select a US server. You’ll now have a different IP address which makes it appear you’re in that location.
Bear in mind that not all VPNs can unblock geo-restricted sites. Many sites, including streaming, gaming, and gambling services, have methods to detect when you are using a proxy (VPNs are included in this). Notably, many free VPNs are unable to bypass such proxy detectors. If you’re looking to access a specific service, it’s worth checking with the VPN provider if it’s able to provide access, before signing up (you can check here for VPNs working with Neflix, Amazon Prime, BBC iPlayer and Hulu).
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The best VPN for changing your location in Firefox and Chrome: NordVPN
We’ve put a plethora of the top-rated VPNs through some rigorous testing, and NordVPN comes out on top each time. Indeed, this is the VPN provider we recommend for use with Firefox and Chrome. Based in Panama, NordVPN operates a network of more than 5, 000 servers spanning 59 countries.
It provides users with exceptionally fast, reliable connections that are ideal for streaming, and is capable of unlocking a ton of geo-restricted sites. You can easily stream Netflix US (and other Netflix libraries), Hulu, HBO, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, and lots more. If you have any issues finding the right server to connect to, a 24/7 live chat customer service agent is always available to help.
Included in every NordVPN subscription are apps for Windows, MacOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. Chrome and Firefox users can download dedicated browser extensions which can be used as remote controls for the appropriate VPN app.
When you connect to a server, NordVPN’s browser extension will automatically change your Firefox or Chrome geolocation data to match the VPN location you’re connected to. This means that as long as you’re using the VPN, you never have to worry about changing any settings manually; just connect to the appropriate server and you’re good to go.
NordVPN is just as impressive when it comes to privacy and security. It uses 256-bit encryption which is considered “military-grade, ” and this comes with perfect forward secrecy. You also get the best leak protection in the industry and a built-in kill switch. This means you can rest assured your data will always remain safe inside the encrypted tunnel.
Read our full review of NordVPN.
NordVPN isn’t the only excellent provider available for use with Firefox and Chrome. Other high-quality options include ExpressVPN and Surfshark.
How to manually spoof your location
If you’re just setting up Firefox or Chrome, as part of the setup process, you’ll be asked if you want to allow location services. You can simply deny this request, and for Firefox, you can skip the first set of instructions below.
But chances are you’re doing this after initial setup. In this case, you’ll need to turn the geolocation services off manually. Plus, it doesn’t help with actually changing your location, so you’ll need to do that manually too.
Manually change your location in Firefox
Here’s how to spoof your location in Firefox:
Type about:config in your browser. A warning will pop up to tell you about the risk involved in altering the advanced settings. As long as you’re happy to go ahead, click I accept the risk!
Look for the setting geo. enabled.
The value column should read “true. ” Double click it to set it to “false. ”
Note that this will only stop Firefox tracking your location. To set a new location, you can continue with the following steps:
Still in about:config, look for the setting
Change this to the location you want to “be” in. To do this, you have to enter a specific longitude and latitude value. You can use the following line of code but replace the values: data:application/json, {“location”: {“lat”: 40. 7590, “lng”: -73. 9845}, “accuracy”: 27000. 0}
The above example from a Stack Exchange user will put you in Times Square, but you can change it to wherever you want by tweaking the latitude and longitude values. There are plenty of tools to help you find out these numbers such as GPS Coordinates and
Note that if you ever want to revert back to the default settings, you can right click anywhere on the row and select Reset.
Manually change your location in Chrome
In Chrome, you can use the following instructions to spoof your location:
In a browser window, hit Ctrl+Shift+I (for Windows) or Cmd+Option+I (for MacOS). This will open the Chrome Developer Tools window.
Hit Esc, then click the Console menu (three dots to the left of Console in the lower portion of the screen).
Select Sensors and change the Geolocation dropdown to Custom location…
Enter any latitude and longitude you want.
Alternatively, you can choose one of the preset options in the Geolocation menu, including Berlin, Mumbai, or San Francisco.
Note that for the location override to work in Chrome, you have to keep the developer tools open and stay in the same browser window. If you open a new window, it will revert back to your original location. This is different to Firefox where you can open multiple windows and still have your location spoofed.
To check if these processes have worked in either browser, you can test it using a tool such as BrowserLeaks.
In the above screenshot, you can see that we managed to spoof our location to make it appear that we were actually in Times Square.
Use the Location Guard addon
If you’re happy to let an addon do the work for you, you might want to try Location Guard. This extension has two major uses:
Lower accuracy of location detection: If you’re concerned about privacy but still want to appear that you’re in the same general location, you can use this extension to hide your exact location. This means you can still enjoy the perks of geolocation services (such as local search results), without having to let browsers and third parties know exactly where you are. You can choose the level of “noise” added depending on how much you want to mask your location.
Spoof your location: Another option is to use Location Guard’s Fixed Location feature which basically does what we did earlier: enables you to select an exact location you want to appear to be in.
To use the Fixed Location feature:
Install the Location Guard extension for Firefox or Chrome.
Go to Options and change Default Level to Use fixed location.
Go to Fixed Location and choose a location on the map. You can either find your desired location manually or enter an address in the search bar. Just make sure that you “place” the pointer in your desired location — you’ll have to actually click on the map to put it in place.
Location Guard’s setup is an arguably easier option than the manual steps we outlined earlier. Plus, the extension offers an attractive and intuitive interface. Although, there is the issue that you’re using another extension, so it might not be the most ideal option for privacy-conscious users. While it worked for us, there have been complaints from some users that it hasn’t worked consistently.
WebRTC blocking
One more factor to be concerned about is WebRTC leaks. WebRTC, or Web Real-Time Communication helps facilitate audio and video browser-to-browser communication. It is built into many browsers, including Firefox and Chrome. Even when using a VPN, WebRTC can pose a risk by potentially exposing your real IP address.
Many VPNs build WebRTC protection into their software, but this is often limited to actual VPN apps, and doesn’t typically carry over to browser extensions. Some do include WebRTC leak protection in their extensions, such as NordVPN, but if you’re going with another provider, you might need to take extra precautions.
Is it possible to disable WebRTC in your browser to avoid the issue altogether. Here’s how to disable WebRTC leaks in Firefox:
Enter about:config in your Firefox address bar.
Find erconnection. enabled.
If the Value column says “true, ” then double-click the row so that it reads “false. ”
There is no similar method to do this in Chrome. However, there are extensions available that can prevent WebRTC leaks, including WebRTC Leak Prevent.
You can check to see if these methods have worked using BrowserLeaks.
Can I use a DNS proxy instead of a VPN?
It is possible to use a DNS proxy service in place of a VPN for the IP address component of location spoofing. However, you should bear in mind two major differences between VPNs and proxy servers.
The first is that a DNS proxy will only change your location if you’re visiting a site that requires geo-unblocking. For any other site, the proxy won’t kick in, and you’ll get a direct connection to that site. This means if you want privacy, a DNS proxy won’t provide it. Plus, while a DNS proxy can technically help you unblock geo-restricted content, the reality is that many are unable to bypass some heavy proxy crackdowns such as those rolled out by Netflix and BBC iPlayer.
The second big difference is that most DNS proxy services won’t encrypt your internet traffic. This means that if it’s intercepted, anyone can decipher your information. If privacy and security are concerns, then you’re better off with a VPN.
Can I use a free VPN to change my IP address?
Free VPNs will pop up all the time in your search, but these are generally not good options. For starters, in a similar vein to DNS proxies, they are less likely to be able to bypass the geo-restriction measures taken by certain sites. So chances are you won’t be able to access your favorite shows, movies, or games. What’s’ more, servers are few and far between and tend to be overloaded. Even if you can bypass restrictions, you could end up with a slow, unreliable connection.
Additionally, free VPNs tend to have rather strict data limits. If you’re looking to effectively use a VPN service for anything more than basic web browsing, you’ll find a free VPN is extremely limited.
If you’re more concerned about privacy and security, free VPNs fall short there too. Various services have been known to track user activity, sell information to third parties, and inject ads into the sites you visit. Some fail to encrypt your data and could even carry malware. It’s definitely worth the few extra bucks for a top-rated provider.
Wrapping Up
Because browsers have multiple methods in place to detect your location, to truly spoof your location, you may need to use a couple of methods. Our recommended solution is to use a VPN and manually change your location in your browser. If you find that too cumbersome (it’s a little more difficult in Chrome), then trying the Location Guard extension alongside a VPN could be a very viable solution.
Share your location – Computer – Google Chrome Help
Send feedback help content & informationGeneral Help Center experience Get more useful information from sites by letting them see your location. For example, by sharing your location, you can find food near you faster.
Let a site know your location
By default, Chrome asks you when a site wants to see your location. To let the site know where you are, choose Allow. Before sharing your location, review the site’s privacy policy.
If you use Google as your default search engine on your phone, your location is used by default for your searches on Google.
Change your default location settings
On your computer, open Chrome.
At the top right, click More Settings.
Under “Privacy and security, ” click Site settings.
Click Location.
Choose the option you want as your default setting.
To change the settings for a specific site, learn how to add and edit exceptions.
Using Chrome or a Chromebook at work or school? Your network administrator might set location settings for you. Learn about using a managed Chrome device.
Important: If you’re using Chrome on a Mac desktop, you may get a notification that “Location is turned off in your Mac system preferences. ” To update your computer’s location preferences, follow the onscreen instructions.
How Chrome shares your location
If you let Chrome share your location with a site, Chrome sends information to Google Location Services to get an estimate of where you are. Chrome can then share that info with the site that wants your location.
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Setting language preferences in a browser – W3C
Setting language preferences in a browser
Question
How do I use the language settings of my browser to specify the language in which a server should send me pages?
Quick answer
Sometimes a server may determine which language to send to you in a way that doesn’t rely on the Accept-Language information. For example, Google tends to use IP information to determine the language you will receive. The browser settings discussed here do not affect content negotiation based on this kind of mechanism.
Most desktop browsers have settings that allow you to check or change the language preference settings. These tell the server what language you prefer for pages and resources that it sends you (separately from the language of the browser user interface). See the next section for examples of how to change these settings. However, for browsers on mobile devices (and at least one on the desktop), the language preferences are likely to be determined by the operating system settings, or in some cases by the language of the system when you installed the browser.
Browsers that allow you to change your language preferences will generally allow you to specify a list of languages, so that if your first choice is not available you can say what alternative languages to try, and in what order.
If your browser is set to request a language for a specific region, such as Canadian French, you should ensure that there is another language tag listed after it with just the vanilla language subtag (ie. just French in this case).
You can use the Internationalization Checker to discover the language(s) currently being requested by your browser.
In many cases, the initial browser setting will meet your needs. For example, if you have a Japanese version of a browser, the browser typically
assumes that you prefer pages in Japanese, and sends this information to the server. The details below tell you how to discover and change the language preferences
if you need to.
Details
Technical background
This section sets the scene by briefly describing the technical details behind what is going on.
When your browser pulls a document from the Web, it sends a request to the server where the information is stored. This is known as an HTTP request. With the request, the browser sends information about its language preference settings.
The HTTP request carries this language preference information in the Accept-Language header. If the server
is set up to return alternate versions of a page or resource in more than one language, and the language you prefer is available, it will go through a process known
as HTTP content negotiation to find content in the language(s) indicated in the HTTP request. If there is only one version of a page on the server, that version will be retrieved. If none of the languages you request are available, the server should be set up to return a default language choice.
Most mainstream browsers allow you to modify the language preferences that your browser sends with the HTTP request. The value itself should conform to BCP 47 (Tags for the Identification of Languages). It is typically a two- or three-letter language code (eg. fr for French), followed by optional subcodes representing such things as country (eg. fr-CA represents French as used in Canada). Regions can include larger areas than countries. If you set Spanish for Latin America, you are likely to set es-419. (Learn more about language tags. )
When the browser preferences include multiple languages, the browser will assign a qvalue (quality value) to each of the languages lower down the list. This is a kind of weighting system that is supposed to help the server understand the order in which you prefer the languages. Here is an example of an Accept-Language header with multiple languages. Danish is preferred. If that fails, British English is requested, and finally any type of English.
Accept-Language: da, en-gb;q=0. 8, en;q=0. 7
Specifying alternatives
You can typically specify several alternatives that will be treated in order of preference. The following example shows a setting in Firefox for someone who would prefer Swiss French pages, but if that is not available would settle for any French, German or English page, in that
order.
To ensure success you should configure your browser to request both fr-CH and fr, in that order. This will cause the server to look for a Swiss French version first, but failing that, look for any French version before going on to German.
Chrome will automatically set this up in the Accept-Language header that is sent by your browser, even though you won’t see the vanilla language listed in the dialog box, but most browsers don’t. It’s best to start by checking what your Accept-Language header is currently set to, make some adjustments, and then check again.
Checking your Accept-Language headers
Before changing your preferences you might want to check what your Accept-Language header is currently set to.
Run the Internationalization Checker on any page, then in the Information panel, look under Request Headers > Accept-Language.
See an example using this page.
Changing your preferences
We list here examples of how you would change the language settings for recent versions of a number of popular browsers on Windows or OS X desktop platforms. We use the latest versions of those browsers at the time that this article was written.
These instructions change from time to time as new versions of a browser are released. The data here was correct last time
we looked. Please let us know if the information is out of date.
Command sequences for additional and older versions of browsers can be found at
For most mobile devices, your preferences are set according to the primary language of your system. This makes some sense, since a mobile device is typically a personal item.
Edge. Open the Regions & language page in Settings and select the option to add a language. In many cases, you will be asked to select a region at the same time. Once you have made your selection(s), move or remove languages in the list to establish your preferred order. Restart Edge.
If you choose a language+region combination, Edge will automatically set both a language tag for the language+region and a following tag for just the vanilla language in your Accept-Language request. In the dialog box listing languages, however, you will only see the language with the region. For example, if you choose Español (América Latina), Edge will automatically add es-419 followed by es in your Accept-Language request, although you will only see Español (América Latina) in the dialog box.
If you then add Spanish for Mexico to the list, you will automatically end up with es-419, es-MX and es, in that order, although you will still only see Español (América Latina) followed by Español (México) in the dialog box.
You can create custom language tags by typing the BCP-47 tag for the language you wish to add in the search box of the Add a language page in the Desktop Control Panel (see a picture). In such cases, the script of the language tag must be one supported by Windows. For example, typing tlh-Latn in the Search box returns Klingon (tlh-Latn) and adds tlh-Latn to the Accept-Language request.
Chrome. Open the browser settings, and in the advanced section scroll down to find Languages. Open Language and Input Settings and add the language or language+region choice you want from the list available. Order the resulting list so that it is in descending order of preference. You don’t need to restart Chrome.
If you choose a language+region combination, Chrome will set that option followed by just the vanilla language. For example, if you choose French (Canada), Chrome will add that followed by French in your on-screen preference list.
If you then add French (Switzerland), it will add that choice to the bottom of your list and you will need to manually move the French (Switzerland) choice before the vanilla French choice in the dialog box.
You can’t create custom language tags.
Firefox. Open the browser settings and the Content tab. Under the Languages heading, choose your preferred language(s) by selecting the language or language+region combination you want from the list provided. Then adjust the order to indicate your order of preference.
If you choose a language+region combination, Firefox will just add that option to your list and you will need to manually add the vanilla language just after it. For example, if you choose French/Canada [fr-ca], Firefox will add just that to your list and you will need to add French [fr] after it yourself.
If you subsequently add French/Switzerland [fr-ch] you’ll need to move it above the vanilla French item.
You can’t create custom language tags using the standard interface. (You can, however, via about:config, using cept_languages if you are geeky enough. )
Safari. On OS X the language sent is that specified in the OS X system language preferences. To change those preferences go to System Preferences > Language & Region > Preferred Language, but be aware that it will change the language of your user interface, not just your browser language preferences. Make sure you know how to switch back to your normal language!
You can have a long list of languages in this dialog box, but Safari will only send the top item with the Accept-Language header. If you select English (U. K. ) in the preferences, the browser will send en-gb in the Accept-Language header (and nothing else).
Additional information
Why you should choose the vanilla language as well as a language+region pair
The basic rule here is that if your language preference list contains a language tag containing a hyphen, such as fr-CH (French as spoken in Switzerland), you should consider adding an additional language tag without the hyphen, ie. fr (French) in this case, immediately after.
This is because if a server follows the HTTP/1. 1 specification literally, it is unable to match fr-CH against a document labelled on the server as fr.
In practice, a server such as Apache will actually still produce a result in this case. This is because the server adds an implicit fr preference to the list.
This preference is, however, added with a very low priority. While Apache’s workaround may solve the problem if your language preference list contains only a single language, you can run into problems if you have specified more than one. The Apache documentation explains this as follows:
Implicitly, Apache will add the parent language to the client’s acceptable language list with a very low quality value. But note that if the client requests “en-GB; q=0. 9, fr; q=0. 8”, and the server has documents designated “en” and “fr”, then the “fr” document will be returned. This is necessary to maintain compliance with the HTTP/1. 1 specification and to work effectively with properly configured clients.
Let’s look at an example. The language preference list in the image in the previous section will always return a French document on an Apache server labeled as fr, because the French [fr] choice is explicitly listed, immediately after French/Switzerland [fr-ch]. If we remove French [fr] from the list, however, even though the Apache server adds an implicit French [fr] value, it has a lower quality value than the German [de], and therefore a German version of the document will be returned if no Swiss-French version is available (even though a version labeled as French is available).
Trying out content negotiation
You can try out language negotiation with this example of a language-negotiated page: The CSS2 Press Release (available in
Dutch,
English,
German, and
Japanese). Set your preferences to each of the available languages in turn, and click on this link after each change.
Further reading
Related links, Authoring HTML & CSS
Language
Setting & changing browser preferences
Related links, Set up a Server
Setting up MultiViews language negotiation on Apache
Frequently Asked Questions about how to change chrome browser location country
How do I change my Google Chrome country?
Change your default location settingsOn your computer, open Chrome .At the top right, click More. Settings.Under “Privacy and security,” click Site settings.Click Location.Choose the option you want as your default setting.
How do I change my browser region?
Open the browser settings, and in the advanced section scroll down to find Languages . Open Language and Input Settings and add the language or language+region choice you want from the list available.Mar 22, 2011
