Life360 is a location and parental control app that’s designed to keep families in touch with one another and for parents to keep an eye out for their children, even when they are away from home. Most parents download and use apps like Life360 when they hear those Amber Alerts go off. 

However, kids are constantly trying to buck authority and find ways around apps like Life360, usually in their own best interests. If you’re a teenager reading this, you might want that Life360 up and running if you ever find yourself needing help but can’t reach out to anyone. 

Yeah, it sounds scary, but that doesn’t mean it could never happen. One of the things that parents are most concerned about is the use of VPNs in conjunction with apps like Life360. Will the anonymous nature of an active VPN interfere with Life360’s features?

Can A VPN Trick Life360?

You can use a VPN to trick Life360 but it doesn’t do so just by virtue of being on. You have to actively use it to thwart Life360 on your smartphone. Life360 can also be tricked by GPS location-changing software and modded versions of the Life360 app.

If you’re having issues installing or using a VPN to trick Life360, a good alternative is to use a GPS location changer, such as IMyPhone.

You could also download a modded version of the Life360 app that will allow you to spoof your location. Check out www.getmods.cc and do a search for Life360. Also, if you’re doing this on an Apple device, you’ll need to change a couple of settings before you download the modded app (skip this for Android). First, hit the Settings Icon and go to General – Background App Refresh, and select Wi-Fi & Mobile Data. Finally, go back into Settings – Battery and make sure Low Power Mode is off.

Because free, you may need to download and register a couple of free apps before you get your link to download the modded version of Life360, but you can just delete them afterward.

Life360 is primarily used in coordination with geofences that you set up when you download the app and create an account. These geofences are certain areas, whose boundaries you decide. When the phone passes into this area, the primary account is notified.

Related Article: Can A VPN Cause Roaming Charges? (Explained!)

Life360 primarily relies on the location features of the phone, namely GPS. Most of the methods for tricking Life360 don’t involve a VPN because using a VPN to do it is inconvenient. 

ExpressVPN is the most popular VPN when it comes to tricking the Life360 app.

  • Download the ExpressVPN app and create an account or log in
  • When it asks you for a specific location choose something other than where you live
  • Select this location from a list of nearby locations provided by the app
  • Select the “Power Button” to connect to that server (these location choices are actually servers)
  • Open your Life360 app once you get your new IP address
  • Once Life360 is open and running, it will use the new IP address

For the most part, however, kids are going to use other apps to generate workarounds for apps like Life360, and it’s unfortunate. Can parents sometimes take it too far? Sure. We’re all human and can make a mistake from time to time.

But there is nothing in the world that’s wiser, more all-knowing, and indestructible than the American teenager. The one who knows best about all things, especially when flipping the SUV down the side of a mountain, and oops, Life360 has been circumvented. Sorry for ya.

All Things Considered

Yes, ExpressVPN and some of the other VPN services can be used to undermine Life360 but they aren’t the most convenient methods for doing so. There are a ton of apps out there that are more than capable of spoofing a location and fooling the Life360 app into thinking they’re elsewhere. 

However, if you’re going to use it, just be careful and consider the potential ramifications.