How to Change Your Location on a Mac

In today’s world filled with different kinds of advanced technology, privacy is something that is getting harder and harder to keep. When using the internet, different people from all over the world have tools they can use to see our physical location and track our online activity.

Whether it’s for privacy or some other reason, you can decide to change the appearance of your location. In that way, you will keep your actual location private, and be able to access all the websites and services that are otherwise inaccessible.

Keep reading this guide and we’ll tell you everything you need to know on how to change your location on a Mac by using ExpressVPN, one of the most popular apps for that.

How to Change Your Location on a Mac Through the Router

1. If you don’t have the ExpressVPN app already installed on your Mac device, make sure you download it at www.expressvpn.com/order.
   
2. Once you open the app, you will see that it automatically chooses a smart location for you.
   
3. Click the three dots button to choose the location you want. This will open a menu with two options: Recommended and All Locations.
   
4. For choosing a specific region, click “All Locations.” In this way, you can choose a particular city or a region.
   
5. Select the location you would like to use.
   

Done! With only a few simple steps, you can change the appearance of the location of your device. You are also able to save your favorite locations inside the app or to review the most recent ones. After you’ve disconnected from the location you wanted to use, you can easily go back to the recommended smart location that was set by default for your Mac device.

How to Change Your Location in Chrome on a Mac With an Extension?

It is possible to change your location on different browsers by using ExpressVPN extensions. Let’s see how it can be done in Google Chrome on a Mac.

1. Make sure you already have the ExpressVPN desktop app and the Google Chrome browser installed on your Mac device.
2. Go to www.expressvpn.com/setup
3. Select “Google Chrome.”
   
4. Click “Get Extension.” This will take you to the Chrome store.
   
5. Click “Add to Chrome” in the upper right corner.
   
6. After the message asking you if you would like to add the extension appears, click “Add Extension.”
   
7. To use this extension, click on the ExpressVPN icon, which you will find right next to the address bar in your Chrome Browser.
   
8. When you open it, you will see that you are automatically connected to a smart location. This is the location that ExpressVPN selects by default, based on various factors.
   
9. Click the “On” button to connect to the VPN inside your browser. If you would like to disconnect, click the “On” button again.
   
10. To change your location, click the three dots button, i.e. the location picker.
    
11. You will see two different buttons: “Recommended” and “All Locations.” If you would like to search for a specific city or a region, click “All Locations”, and a search bar will appear.
    

When using the ExpressVPN extension, it’s important to know that the VPN will protect all your Internet traffic, not just the one from your Chrome Browser.

How to Change Your Location in Firefox on a Mac With an Extension?

ExpressVPN also offers an extension for the Firefox browser. Follow the steps below to learn how to change your location on a Mac inside Firefox.

1. You need to have the ExpressVPN desktop app and the Firefox browser installed on your Mac device.
2. Go to www.expressvpn.com/setup
3. Select “Mozilla Firefox.”
   
4. Click “Get Extension.” This will take you to “Firefox Add-ons.”
   
5. Click “Add to Firefox.”
   
6. A message will appear asking you if you would like to add the extension. Click “Add.”
   
7. Click “Okay, got it” on the next message that pops up.
   
8. To use the extension, click on the ExpressVPN icon, which you will find right next to the address bar in your Firefox Browser.
   
9. A welcome screen will appear. Click “Continue,” “Continue,” and “Get Started.”
   
10. You will notice that you are automatically connected to a smart location. This is the location that ExpressVPN selects by default.
    
11. Click the “On” button to connect to the VPN inside your browser. If you wish to disconnect, click the “On” button again.
    
12. To change your location, click the three dots button, i.e. the location picker.
    
13. You will see two different buttons: “Recommended” and “All Locations.” If you would like to search for a specific city or a region, click “All Locations”, and a search bar will appear.

As with the Chrome browser, when using the ExpressVPN extension in Firefox, the VPN will protect all your traffic, not just the one going through your Firefox browser.

Why should you use the ExpressVPN browser extensions? Because they offer different privacy and security settings that will enable you to be 100% safe while surfing the internet from your browser. It is important to keep in mind that browsers can share your actual location with different websites. This means that even if you’re using the VPN servers to surf the internet, your true location can still be revealed.

ExpressVPN extensions offer different options that can prevent this from happening. For example, if you want to visit a particular website that is not available in your region, by using an ExpressVPN browser extension and the option to spoof your location. In this way, you will be able to match the geolocation of your device to the VPN location, and you will have no trouble accessing websites and services that would otherwise be inaccessible because of your actual location.

Additional FAQ

If you need any additional information, or you have some unanswered questions, check out the section below.

How Does the Mac and Associated Applications Track My Location?

Mac uses data gathered through GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi hotspots, and cell tower locations to track the location of your device. If your Location Services are on, it means that third-party apps can gather data based on the location of your Mac device.

What does this mean? For example, if you’re trying to find a restaurant near your location, a third-party app will use the current location of your device to help you find the closest restaurants. Besides having the Location Service on, you will also need to permit every app for them to gather information on the location of your device.

These apps can have access to your location even when you’re not using them, or they can only access your location when you’re using the apps.

Of course, you can disable Location Services whenever you want if you follow the steps below:

1. Go to “Settings.”

2. Click on “Privacy.”

3. Click on “Location Services.”

4. Here, you have two options: you can manually turn off location services for different applications, or you can turn them off for every app on your device.

Will Changing My Location Change My IP Address?

If you change your location through ExpressVPN, you will basically hide your IP address and browse the internet with a different one. How does this work? An IP address is a number specific to every single device connected to the internet. These addresses are essential for communication among devices on the web, and they consist of different, unique numbers. IP addresses can be used to track the location of your device and your activity on the internet.

By connecting to the internet through VPN services such as ExpressVPN, you can hide your real IP address and browse the internet with a different one from a location of your choice. If you change your location in this way, everyone can see the IP address of the VPN server, but not your original one.

What will happen once you disable the VPN? At that moment, you will start using your original IP address again.

Reasons for Changing Your Location Through ExpressVPN

1. Privacy: By changing your network location, you can keep your identity and internet activity private. None of the third-party apps will be able to track your true location since you’re browsing the internet with a different IP address.

2. Security: People who frequently connect to different open Wi-Fi networks often use VPNs to protect their device and their data from any potential threats. By using a VPN server, you can protect yourself from any possible security breaches.

3. Access: Some websites and services are often inaccessible from some parts of the world. Or, they offer different content depending on the country you live in (for example, streaming services like Netflix). With the use of a VPN server, you can access those websites and services from any part of the world, which means you will be able to view all available content without any restrictions.

4. Saving money: believe it or not, you can save money by changing your location through ExpressVPN. Some websites offer different prices to people from different parts of the world. By using VPN servers, you will find the best possible prices and deals for everything you want to purchase online.

Do You Want to Live in Every Single Part of the World? It’s Possible, at Least, on the Internet!

Now you’ve learned how to change your location on a Mac. There are several ways in which you can do this. So, if you want to be sure your identity and internet activity is kept safe, your privacy protected, and you have unlimited access to every website and service online, follow this simple guide.

Have you ever tried changing your location using VPN servers? Let us know in the comment section below.