[FAQ]

Hi everyone,

I’m a bit confused about how location is handled on TikTok in 2025. I’ve seen people with locations on their videos, and I’m wondering if it’s possible to change what TikTok shows as my “live location.”

Is this something you set in your main profile, or do you add it to each post individually? Or is it all automatic based on my phone? I’m also curious if using something like a VPN would be needed or if that’s even allowed by TikTok to show a different location.

Any clarification would be great, thanks!

[Jeff Bullas]

Changing what you might call your “live location” on TikTok depends on what specific aspect of location you are referring to, as the platform does not have a feature that continuously broadcasts your precise, real-time GPS position in the way some mapping applications might.

Here is what you can and cannot easily do regarding location on TikTok.

First, for location on your TikTok posts, this is a tag you can choose to add. When you are creating or uploading a new video, on the final screen where you write your caption and add hashtags, there is usually an option labelled “Add location” or simply “Location.” You can tap this to search for and select a specific place, such as a city, venue, or landmark, to tag on your video. This is a manually added label and not your live GPS feed. As of recent updates, some users have also reported being able to edit or add a location tag to videos after they have been posted by going to the video, tapping the three dots for options, and selecting “Edit post.”

Second, concerning your account’s primary region or country setting, TikTok generally determines this based on a combination of factors when you create your account. These can include the region of your SIM card, your IP address at the time of sign-up, and your device’s regional settings. This influences the content trends and videos you see on your “For You Page.” Officially changing this primary account region after it has been established is generally not a simple option available in the app’s settings for most users. Some people attempt to influence this by using VPNs or changing SIM cards if they move to a new country, but these methods can be unreliable and might have implications for your user experience or even be against TikTok’s terms if used to misrepresent your location.

Third, if you are referring to your location when you go LIVE on TikTok, the platform might use your general location information for discovery purposes, helping people nearby find your LIVE session. However, you do not typically set a “live updating location” pin on a map during the broadcast. You can often add a location tag to your LIVE setup screen before you start, similar to a regular post.

Regarding the use of VPNs or GPS spoofing tools to try and alter your perceived location for TikTok, it is important to be cautious. While these tools can sometimes change your IP address or GPS data, TikTok, like many platforms, has systems to detect such usage. Attempting to spoof your location this way might be unreliable, could lead to a less relevant content feed, or potentially violate TikTok’s Terms of Service, which could result in account issues.

In summary, you can manually add or sometimes edit location tags on your individual posts. Your account’s overall regional setting is more complex and not easily changed through standard settings. Continuously broadcasting a live GPS location is not a standard TikTok feature. If your goal is to provide location context for your content, using the post tagging feature is the most straightforward approach.

Cheers,

Jeff

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