Tinder is one of the most popular dating apps available. Like similar apps, Tinder offers a convenient platform for those who want to connect with people in their area.
But what if you want to search outside of your local community?
Whether you want to broaden your search or are someone who travels a lot, changing your Tinder location can be a snap. If you need to change your location on Tinder, read on. In this article, I’ll show you how to fake your location so Tinder thinks you’re somewhere other than where you really are.
How Tinder Tracks Your Location
Tinder works by pulling your location from your phone’s GPS service. The app then searches for potential matches that could be between 1 and 100 miles for you within the search radius you set.
So, if your perfect person is 101 miles away, you’re out of luck, unless you’ve convinced Tinder that you’re in a different place than your phone says.
Fortunately, if you find that you need to change your Tinder location, you can do so using the features available in the app itself.
Change your location with Tinder Plus
The simplest and easiest way to change your location is to become a Tinder Plus or Tinder Gold subscriber. Premium customers are allowed to change their location at any time and get some side benefits from this ability as well.
Tinder Plus is $9.99 a month and Tinder Gold is even more expensive, so the ability to change locations whenever you want isn’t free. (You might want to check out our article on the various benefits and costs of different Tinder levels.)
The relocation feature is called Tinder Passport and it allows you to change your location in the app as many times as you want. You can only swipe in one city at any given time, but it lets you quickly switch between a range of places by setting up to four default locations. Every time you enter the fifth location, Tinder will delete the oldest location you previously set.
The good news for premium users is that when you set your location to a new location, you get the enviable newbie boost, which is a great way to get more matches! This can be a significant advantage to your visibility and is a largely unknown bonus to using Passport.
Using a passport is simple. Just go to app settings and search for “Discovery Settings”. Tap the bar that says “Swipe in” (if you are using Android) or “Location” (for iOS users) and it will open the location selection screen. You can then select an existing location by tapping on it or tap “Add a new location” and the map will open.
Enter the location you really want to “be” and your Tinder card stack will reset to that location. Note that it may take some time for new potential matches to appear in your feed.
Also, keep in mind that when swiping the new Passport location, your distance will appear in these matches no matter how far between your Passport location and where you are physically, so you might want to add something. To your bio to explain why people match you even though you’re 4,284 miles away.
Can You Cheat Your Location On Tinder?
While Tinder offers an official way to change your location, some users may not want to spend the extra money for this feature.
In that case, there are several unofficial methods you can use to spoof your location on Tinder. Note that these methods are not entirely foolproof. Tinder tries to prevent people from spoofing their location. That said, the methods below are generally reliable ways to spoof your location when using Tinder.
Fake Your Location on Android
Due to the accessibility of GPS information on an Android phone, you can spoof your location on Tinder quite easily using a third-party app.
To get started, follow these steps:
- Download and install a fake GPS app for Android.
- Hungry Settings menu on your Android device.
- Set route to Developer Options.
- Open Developer Options.
- If your phone has a pass Allow mock locationsset it on.
- Tap on Choose fake location app.
- Choose your fake GPS app.
- Come back Settings and then Location.
- choose Location Mode and change it Device only (GPS only).
- Open the Tinder app and Settings and discovery.
- Change Search Distance To something different to force Tinder to retake your location.
- Start scrolling!
Tinder seems to be working steadily on eliminating this trick with every new version of the app they release, so if that doesn’t work, you may need to try using another fake GPS app or a completely different method.
Spoof Your Location on iOS
Spoofing your location on an iPhone is much harder because Apple doesn’t really want you to do that. There are several apps that claim to be able to spoof your GPS without jailbreaking your phone. One that seems to work is iTools from ThinkSky.
iTools allows you to change your location three times for free in the trial version; After that, you have to pay to use the program. It costs $30.95 or more, depending on the license level you want and how many devices you want to install on. iTools also only works on iOS 12 and below.
Another option is to jailbreak your iPhone. We have an article examining the pros and cons of this approach. Jailbreaking is risky and is not for careful or inexperienced users; You can very easily turn your iPhone into a very expensive, very ineffective paperweight. Explaining how it’s done is beyond the scope of this article. If you decide to jailbreak your iPhone, be careful and seek expert help with the process.
final thoughts
The only way to change your Tinder location is to cash out for a subscription; this may be the best way if you are going to travel or move soon.
But if you’re looking for a day trip beyond just the outer belt, try one of the location spoofing methods. They are not the most reliable solutions, but they can work in a pinch.
Do you have other methods to change your location on Tinder? Share them with us in the comments!
