Where Facebook Gets Your Location and How to Update It

Facebook pulls your location from several places: your phone's GPS, your internet address, the city you listed in your profile, and where you log in from. To change what Facebook shows as your location, you need to update your profile information and adjust your phone's location permissions. The steps differ depending on whether you're on a phone or computer, and whether you want to change your permanent profile location or just hide where you're currently logging in from.

The most common reason to change your location is that Facebook is showing the wrong city in your profile, or you've moved and want to update it. A second reason is privacy — you may not want Facebook to know your exact location at all. Both are fixable, but they require different steps.

Key Takeaways

  • Your profile location (the city shown on your profile) is separate from your real-time location, which Facebook tracks through GPS and your internet address.
  • To change the city shown on your profile, go to your profile, click "Edit profile," find the "Location" field, and type in the new city.
  • To stop Facebook from tracking your real-time location, turn off location services for the Facebook app in your phone's settings.
  • Facebook on a computer cannot access your GPS, so it only knows your location from your internet address — you cannot change this without a VPN.
  • Changing your profile location does not hide your real-time location from Facebook; you must disable location permissions separately.

Changing the City on Your Facebook Profile

The city that appears on your profile is stored in your profile information, not tracked in real time. To change it on an iPhone or Android phone, open the Facebook app, tap the three horizontal lines (menu), scroll down and tap "Settings & privacy," then tap "Settings." Scroll to "Personal information" and tap "Location." Type in the new city and tap "Save."

On a computer, go to your profile by clicking your name in the top left. Click "Edit profile" (the pencil icon), find the "Location" field on the left side, and type in the new city. Click outside the field to save. If you do not see a location field, click "Add a life event" or scroll down — some profiles have it listed under "Work and education" instead.

Facebook will suggest cities as you type. Select the one you want from the dropdown. If your city is not listed or you want to be vague, you can type just a state or region instead — Facebook will accept it.

Turning Off Real-Time Location Tracking

Separate from your profile location is the real-time location Facebook collects through your phone's GPS. Even if your profile says you live in Boston, Facebook can see you are currently in New York if you have location services turned on. To stop this, you must disable location permissions for the Facebook app itself.

On iPhone: Go to Settings, tap "Privacy," then "Location Services." Scroll down, find "Facebook," and tap it. Change the setting from "While Using" or "Always" to "Never." You can also tap "Never" to block location access entirely.

On Android: Go to Settings, tap "Apps" or "Applications," find "Facebook," tap "Permissions," then tap "Location." Select "Don't allow." Some Android phones organize this differently — if you do not see "Permissions," try going to Settings, then "Privacy," then "Permission manager," then "Location," and toggle Facebook off.

Once you turn off location permissions, Facebook cannot see where you are in real time. Your profile location will still show the city you entered, but Facebook will not collect GPS data from your phone.

Why Facebook Shows the Wrong Location

If your profile location is correct but Facebook is still showing a different city, the issue is usually your internet address. Every device connected to the internet has an IP address, and Facebook uses that to guess your location. If you are using a VPN, public WiFi, or your internet provider assigns addresses from a different city, Facebook may show the wrong location.

You cannot change your IP address directly — it is assigned by your internet provider or VPN service. If you are using a VPN, try disconnecting it and logging in again. If you are on public WiFi, try using mobile data instead. If the wrong location persists and your profile location is set correctly, the mismatch is usually harmless and will correct itself once Facebook updates its IP database.

Hiding Your Location from Specific People

If you want to keep your location private from certain friends or the public, you can change who sees it. On your phone, go to your profile, tap "Edit profile," tap "Location," and look for a privacy icon (usually a circle with a person or globe). Tap it and choose "Friends," "Friends except," "Specific friends," or "Only me." On a computer, click the privacy icon next to the location field and select who can see it.

This controls who sees the city on your profile. It does not affect real-time location tracking — that is controlled only by your phone's location permissions. If you want to hide your location from Facebook entirely, disabling location permissions in your phone settings is the only way.

What Happens When You Change Your Location

When you change your profile location, it updates when ready on your profile and in search results. Friends will see the new location if they visit your profile. Facebook may also use the new location to show you different ads and local recommendations.

Changing your profile location does not affect your login history or past posts. Old posts will still show the location where you were when you posted them. If you want to change the location on a specific post, go to that post, click the three dots, tap "Edit post," and change the location there.

Location Settings on Facebook Desktop

If you use Facebook on a computer, you have fewer location options because computers do not have GPS. Facebook can only guess your location from your internet address. You cannot disable this without using a VPN, and even then, Facebook will see the VPN's location instead of your real one.

You can still change your profile location on desktop the same way as mobile — go to your profile, click "Edit profile," and update the location field. You can also control who sees it using the privacy icon. But Facebook will continue to know your approximate location based on your IP address, and you cannot change that without a VPN.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does changing my profile location affect my Facebook login or account security?

No. Changing your profile location is purely cosmetic — it only changes what appears on your profile. It does not affect your password, login location, or security settings. Facebook will still track where you log in from based on your IP address, regardless of what city your profile says.

Can I set my location to somewhere I don't actually live?

Yes. Facebook does not verify that you actually live in the city you enter. You can set your profile location to any city you want. However, if you disable location permissions on your phone, Facebook will still know your real location from your internet address, so the mismatch may be obvious to Facebook's systems.

Why does Facebook keep showing my old location even after I changed it?

Facebook sometimes caches location data, so changes can take a few hours to appear everywhere. Try logging out and back in. If it still shows the old location after a day, check that you actually saved the change — go back to "Edit profile" and confirm the new city is there. If the location field is blank, you may not have saved it properly.

If I turn off location permissions, will Facebook stop showing me local ads?

Mostly, but not completely. Turning off location permissions stops Facebook from using your GPS. However, Facebook can still guess your location from your IP address and the city in your profile, so you may still see some location-based ads. To minimize location-based targeting, set your profile location to "Only me" and disable location permissions.

Can I change my location on Facebook without using the app?

Yes. You can change your profile location on any web browser by going to facebook.com, clicking your name, and editing your profile. However, you cannot disable real-time location tracking from a browser — that setting only exists in your phone's operating system settings, not in Facebook itself.