Surfshark has updated its Android VPN app with a new feature that lets users further protect their privacy. Thanks to the GPS spoofing protection, users can shield their online presence from unsolicited tracking by giving them the ability to change their device’s physical GPS location. In other words, the new version of Surfshark lets you select your own destination instead of relying on GPS to get the coordinates.
Before this, users — whether they relied on Surfshark or not — download special apps to prevent unwanted location tracking and/or to select a location for other apps to see.
“Most mobile apps fetch location data from the device’s GPS to track their users for various purposes. Sometimes providing access to the device’s GPS is a condition to use the app. In many cases, users do not even know that some apps track them everywhere they go,” explained Naomi Hodges, Cybersecurity adviser at Surfshark.
“Naturally, our location data can be exploited. For privacy-conscious people, we developed a GPS spoofing solution that can enable them to take back control of their privacy, and in this case, exercise their right to keep their physical location information only to themselves,” she added.
Background
Any web browser can detect your IP address if you’re not using a VPN. With that information alone, website owners and their analytics software (typically Google Analytics) can get a general idea of where you are.
Mobile apps can take an extra step by asking for permission to get your real location data by accessing the built-in GPS. With that data at hand, they could potentially serve you more ads — as their advertisers will know where you are so they could send you more relevant ads. While we have nothing against ads, they can quickly become annoying — especially when you’re visiting some “attractive” spaces near shopping areas.
With the new version of Surfshark, you can prevent these apps from being able to access your real location data and serve them with some other location information, instead — i.e. the Surfshark server you have selected to connect to.
…
GPS spoofing is just the latest addition to Surfshark’s toolkit; the popular VPN service also includes other features such as tracker blocker CleanWeb, the data breach alert system HackLock, and add-free search experience called BlingSearch.
Pros
Cons
- Reliable download and upload speeds
- Works with Netflix and BBC iPlayer
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Lets you use it on unlimited number of devices
- Low number of servers in Africa and Australia