How to Change Your Location on Google Chrome (2026 Guide)

Three Ways to Change Your Location in Chrome

Chrome has no built-in UI to permanently change your reported geolocation — but there are three reliable methods depending on how long you need the change and how precise you want it.

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Method 1: Location Guard Extension (Permanent, Recommended)

This is the best approach for most users. It works across all tabs, persists between sessions, and lets you set any location in the world.

Installation

1. Download the Location Guard offline package from our Installation Guide
2. Open chrome://extensions/ and enable Developer Mode (toggle in top-right)
3. Click "Load unpacked" and select the downloaded folder
4. The shield icon appears in your toolbar

Setting Your Location

1. Click the shield icon → Options
2. Set Default Level → Fixed Location
3. Click anywhere on the map, or type a city in the search box
4. Click Save

Chrome will now report your chosen location to every website that requests it.

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Method 2: Chrome DevTools Sensors (Temporary, No Install)

Perfect for developers or one-time testing.

1. Press F12 (or Cmd+Option+I on Mac) to open DevTools
2. Click the ⋮ menu in DevTools → More tools → Sensors
3. Find the Location section
4. Uncheck "Use default" and choose a preset, or enter custom lat/long
5. Visit a site that requests location — it will receive your DevTools override

Resets when you close DevTools or the tab.

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Method 3: Chrome Settings — Block All Location (Privacy Mode)

If you simply want to stop sharing your location with any site:

1. Go to chrome://settings/content/location
2. Select "Don't allow sites to see your location"

This blocks all geolocation requests. Sites that need location will see a "Permission denied" error.

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How to Change Location for Google Search Results

Google Search uses your location to personalize results (local businesses, news, etc.). To change what Google thinks you are:

1. Install Location Guard and set a fixed location (e.g., Chicago)
2. Open a new tab and go to google.com
3. Search anything — scroll to the bottom of results and click "Settings" → "Search settings"
4. Alternatively, add &near=Chicago,IL to the URL for a quick override

For SEO professionals checking SERPs: set Location Guard to your target city, then search in an Incognito tab for clean results without your history influencing rankings.

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How to Change Location on Chromebook

Chromebooks run Chrome OS, and the process is identical to desktop Chrome:

• Install Location Guard using the offline method (see Installation Guide)
• All the same steps apply — Chromebook fully supports Chrome extensions

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Verifying Your Location Change

After setting a fake location, verify it worked:

1. Go to whatismylocation.com or search "what is my location" on Google
2. The result should show your fake city/coordinates
3. For precise verification: browserleaks.com/geo shows exact lat/long

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Common Issues & Fixes

"Chrome is using my real location even with the extension enabled"

Make sure the site is requesting location permission. Go to the site's address bar, click the lock icon → Site settings → Location → Allow. Then reload the page.

"The location only changed for some sites"

Each site stores its own location permission. Sites where you previously clicked "Block" will remember that setting. Reset it via: lock icon → Location → Reset to default.

"Google Maps shows the wrong city name but correct coordinates"

This is normal — Google Maps labels locations by reverse-geocoding. If you set a pin in the ocean or a rural area, it may show a nearby city name.

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Ready to take control of your browser location? Install Location Guard — it's completely free.