Location Cache & Fake

Collecting location data is quite common on mobile devices. I'm not just talking about apps and their possible ad modules, but about the system itself. Up to about Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich) the corresponding cache files where stored below /data/data/com.android.location/files (in Cache.wifi and Cache.cell), but then was moved elsewhere. Unfortunately, noone found the new location yet (or nobody cared to check; a few last-known locations can be discovered via adb shell dumpsys location, though), so the corresponding apps most likely stopped working on Android 4.1 or later.

Apart from collecting those data on-device, there’s also the so-called „Offline Tracking” – where several collectors (e.g. in malls) log which devices are „passing by”, based e.g. on their WiFi or Bluetooth MAC addresses. To protect yourself from that, simply switch WiFi and Bluetooth off when not needed – for which you can also use some automation app.

Read/view/delete the Location Cache

2023-05-17

As stated above: these apps stopped working with Android versions after 4.0. Meanwhile they are all „gone”.

Location Blocker & Faker

2023-05-17

Fake GPS and Location Pro (5@23) 5 1 LastUpdate: 2019-01-21
Mocklation (4.9@99) 9 2 LastUpdate: 2021-01-12
GPS Emulator (4.6@101,787) Ǥ 20 11
Fake GPS Location - Gypsy (4.5@380) Ǥ 12 6
Fake GPS location (4.2@513,196) 9 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ / Fake GPS Location Donate (4.3@1,244; ~EUR 3.25) 8 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Guide 12/2018
Fake GPS (4.2@72,860) Ǥ 13 4
Fake GPS Location (4.2@613) Ǥ 14 5
Location Changer - Fake GPS (4@31,220) Ǥ 12 3
Fake gps location (3.8@7,451) Ǥ 13 3 LastUpdate: 2021-07-09
Fake GPS Location: Joystick an (3.6@57,869) Ǥ 15 4 LastUpdate: 2021-10-16
Location Faker (3.6@9,296) Ǥ 17 7 LastUpdate: 2020-10-04
Lockito – GPS itinerary faker (3.6@3,708) Ǥ 15 3
Hide Me (3.6@97) Ǥ 10 8 LastUpdate: 2020-02-05
MapWalker - Fake GPS / Fly GPS (3.5@1,390) 13 4 LastUpdate: 2020-09-18
GeoTag — Fake & Spoof GPS Location — Free / Lite (3.4@3,182) 5 2 LastUpdate: 2020-02-04
Mock Locations (fake GPS path) (3.1@11,056) Ǥ 20 5
Fake GPS Location Spoofer (3@111,367) 8 3 / Fake GPS Go Location Spoofer (2.6@7,238; ~EUR 3.00) Ǥ 10 1 LastUpdate: 2018-10-11
FakeTraveler (0@0) 4 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ Github; take the app from F-Droid – the one on Play is something completely different!
Private Location (0@0) 7 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2019-09-28 Github

Other Location Apps

2023-06-01

Also see Location Provider

Location Provider Debugger (4.4@47) 2 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2017-04-23 Github; To check if yours work
Mozilla Stumbler (3.8@1,527) 10 $Contains no trackers known to us \o/$ LastUpdate: 2019-04-06 Github; Intro 8/2016; Data gathering for Mozilla Location Service
Disable Google Network Location consent (0@0) Github; always auto-agree to Google's "anonymous data collection" of your location
Deny Location Consent (0@0) LastUpdate: 2018-04-09 Github; always fake-agree to Google's "anonymous data collection" of your location (but stop it from collecting)

Further Readings:

Category Location Sharing / Fake Locations
Das Märchen von den anonymen Standortdaten (8/2021)
10 Free Location Spoofers to Fake GPS Location on Android (10/2019 - 6/2022)
Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret (12/2018)
It's Time to Check Which Apps Are Tracking Your Location (12/2018)
How to Stop Apps From Tracking Your Location (12/2018)
Erklärung: WLAN-Tracking in Deutschland (12/2017)
Even This Data Guru Is Creeped Out By What Anonymous Location Data Reveals About Us (9/2017)
Was ist eigentlich Offline-Tracking? (7/2017)
Mobilfunkspuren lassen sich leicht Menschen zuordnen (3/2013)

2023-06-01

IzzyOnDroid