You’d think changing your location on Instagram would be simple. Tap a button, type a city, done.
Except Instagram uses your location for so many things. Your business profile shows a location. Posts and Stories get location tags. Ads target by geography. Filters sometimes pull from where your phone says you are.
And if you’re managing multiple accounts, working with clients in different regions, or just trying to make your account look like it’s somewhere it’s not, you’ve probably already discovered that Instagram’s location stuff is layered.
This guide walks through how to actually change location on Instagram for every feature that uses it. We’ll cover the straightforward parts (changing your profile location, tagging posts) and the parts that require more work (making Instagram think you’re in a different country, managing accounts for clients across time zones without getting flagged).
Let’s start with what Instagram is actually reading when it “sees” your location, because this explains why some location changes work instantly and others don’t work at all.
What Instagram Actually Knows About Your Location
Instagram doesn’t just check one thing and call it good. It’s pulling location data from multiple places at once, which is why sometimes you change something and it doesn’t seem to do anything.
- Your phone’s GPS. The Instagram app reads your device’s GPS directly. This is what fills in the location suggestions when you’re adding a location sticker to a Story or tagging a post. If you’re in Brooklyn, Instagram suggests Brooklyn spots. If you’re in Tokyo, you get Tokyo.
- Your IP address. Every time you open Instagram (on your phone, tablet, or computer), Instagram’s servers see your IP address. That IP says roughly where you are: your city, your region, sometimes more specific than that. Instagram uses this for security (catching suspicious logins from weird places) and for ad targeting.
- The locations you manually tag. When you add a location to a post or your business profile, that’s what your audience sees. But it’s separate from what Instagram sees in the background. You can tag a post “Paris” while sitting in Cleveland. Instagram knows you’re not in Paris (from your IP and GPS), but your followers see Paris.
- Where you created your account. Instagram stores the location where your account was first created and tracks your login history geographically. If your account has always logged in from Los Angeles and suddenly shows up in Vietnam, Instagram gets suspicious.
- Your device’s time zone. One more signal. Instagram cross-checks your time zone setting with your IP location. If your phone says you’re in GMT+8 but your IP says New York, that mismatch can trigger verification loops.
Here’s the important part: changing your public profile location doesn’t change what Instagram reads from your IP and GPS. For most people using Instagram casually, this doesn’t matter. But if you’re running a business account, managing multiple accounts for different regions, or handling client accounts, it matters a lot.
How to Change Your Instagram Profile Location
First, the basics. Your profile location is the address or city that shows up on business and creator accounts, right below your username. Personal accounts don’t have this field at all; you need to switch to a business or creator account first if you want a visible location on your profile.
On iPhone:
- Open Instagram, go to your profile
- Tap Edit Profile
- Scroll to Page Information (it might say “Public Business Information” depending on your account type)
- Tap Contact Options
- Tap Address
- Type in your new location
- Hit Done
On Android:
Pretty much the same:
- Profile → Edit Profile
- Find Page Information or Business Public Information
- Tap Address or Contact Options
- Update it
- Save
Quick note: If you don’t see these options, your account is probably still set to personal. Go to Settings → Account → Switch to Professional Account, pick Business or Creator, and then you’ll have the location field.
How to Change Location on Instagram Posts
When you post a photo or video, Instagram lets you add a location tag at the top of the post. This is the clickable location that shows up above your caption and links to that place’s Instagram page.
When you’re creating a new post:
- Pick your photo/video
- On the sharing screen, tap Add location
- Instagram will suggest places near you (based on GPS)
- You can also search for any location: type the name of a city, restaurant, landmark
- Select it, and it tags your post
Can you tag a location you’re not actually at? Yes. Instagram doesn’t verify. You can be in Ohio and tag your post “Eiffel Tower, Paris” if you want. Instagram shows nearby suggestions first, but you can search for anything.
What if you already posted and want to change the location?
Bad news: you can’t edit the location on a post that’s already live. Instagram doesn’t have an “edit location” option after publishing. Your only move is to delete the post and re-upload it with the correct tag.
How to Change Location on Instagram Stories
Stories work similarly, but you’re using a location sticker instead of a tag.
Adding a location to your Story:
- Create your Story (photo or video)
- Tap the sticker icon at the top
- Pick the Location sticker
- Search for your location (or pick from suggestions)
- Drag the sticker where you want it
- Post it
Instagram gives you a few different sticker designs for location. After you select a place, tap the sticker a few times to cycle through different looks.
Can you change it after posting? Nope. Once a Story is up, you can’t edit it. You’d have to delete it and re-post.
How to Change Location on Instagram Bio
Your bio is just a text field. There’s no special “location” feature in your bio like there is for your profile address (that’s the business account thing we covered earlier).
If you want a location in your bio, just type it:
- Edit Profile
- Go to the Bio field
- Type whatever location you want as regular text: “📍 Brooklyn” or “Based in London” or whatever
- Save
This makes it look like you’re referencing a location, but it won’t be clickable like the profile location field is.
How to Change Location on Instagram Ads
If you’re running Instagram ads, location targeting happens in Facebook Ads Manager, not in the Instagram app.
Here’s how:
- Open Facebook Ads Manager (since Instagram ads run through Facebook’s system)
- Create a new campaign or edit an existing one
- Go to the ad set level
- Under Audience, find Locations
- Add or remove locations: you can target by country, state, city, ZIP code, or a radius around a specific point
- Choose whether you want to target:
- People living there
- People who recently visited
- People traveling there
- A combination
- You can also exclude locations
Your Instagram ads will show to people in those areas, no matter where you or your account are actually located, like running a business in Texas and targeting ads to people in Germany. running a business in Texas and target ads to people in Germany.
How to Change Location for Instagram Promotions
When you hit the Promote button on a post, Instagram lets you choose your audience. Location targeting works the same way as ads.
- Tap Promote on a post
- In the setup screen, select Audience
- Pick Automatic (Instagram chooses based on your followers) or Manual
- If you go Manual, tap Locations
- Add the cities, countries, or regions you want to target
- Instagram shows your promotion to people in those places
Again, this has nothing to do with where you are; you’re choosing where you want the post to be seen.
How to Change Location on Instagram Filters
Some filters and AR effects pull from your location to suggest locally relevant stuff. This is where things get tricky.
- The issue: Filters use your real-time GPS. You can’t manually select a different location like you can with posts. Instagram reads where your phone says it is and suggests filters accordingly.
- If you’re traveling: Instagram will automatically start suggesting filters relevant to your new location once your GPS updates.
- If you want filters from a different location without actually being there: This requires your device to report a different GPS position. Standard iPhone and Android settings don’t let you fake GPS easily. On Android, there are GPS spoofing apps (results vary, and Instagram can sometimes detect them). On iPhone, GPS spoofing without jailbreaking is basically not possible through normal methods.
For most people, this isn’t an issue. But if you’re trying to get location-specific filters for content creation and you’re not actually in that place, it’s a pain point.
Can You Actually Fake Your Location on Instagram?
Okay, this is the question a lot of people are really asking.
For posts and stories: Yes, easily. Search for any location in the world and tag it. Instagram doesn’t check if you’re really there. You can sit on your couch in Iowa and tag every post “Dubai.” Instagram allows it.
For what Instagram sees in the background (your IP and GPS): This is harder because Instagram reads your actual IP address and device location for security and functionality. If you want Instagram to think you’re in a different location, like actually seeing you as being there rather than just tagging content with that place, you need to change what your device and network are reporting.
This is where things get technical. Changing your reported location means:
- Your IP address needs to show the target location (this requires a proxy or VPN, but not just any proxy)
- Your device fingerprint needs to match (browser version, timezone, language, hardware signals)
- For mobile, your GPS coordinates need to report correctly
This is relevant if you’re managing Instagram accounts that genuinely need to appear to operate from different places, like running a business account for a New York client while you’re in California, or managing multiple regional accounts for a brand.
We’ll get into how that actually works in a minute.
Why Your Instagram Location Won’t Change (And How to Fix It)
Here are the most common issues:
“The location I want doesn’t show up when I search.”
Either it’s not in Instagram’s database (not every place is indexed), or your location permissions are turned off. Go to your phone’s settings and make sure Instagram has permission to access your location. That makes Instagram load nearby suggestions.
“Instagram keeps showing the wrong location.”
Check your device settings. Make sure location services are on. Also, if you’re using a VPN or proxy, Instagram might be reading the IP location instead of your GPS, and those won’t match.
“My business profile location won’t save.”
You need a business or creator account (personal accounts don’t have this field). Also, the address format matters; Instagram is picky about how addresses are entered. Try entering just the city and state/country rather than a full street address if it keeps failing.
Managing Multiple Instagram Accounts Across Different Locations
Alright, here’s where we talk about what to do if you’re not just changing a location for fun. You actually need Instagram to see your accounts as genuinely operating from different places.
The problem: You’re running Instagram accounts for clients in three different cities. Or you have regional brand accounts. Or you’re managing influencer accounts that are supposed to be based in specific locations. If you log into all of them from your office in one city using the same device and IP, Instagram sees that. And Instagram gets suspicious.
Instagram’s security system looks for patterns that don’t make sense. If one device is accessing 10 different business accounts that are supposedly in 10 different cities, that looks like a coordinated fake account operation. You start seeing verification loops, security checks, even account restrictions.
What actually works:
Each Instagram account needs to look like it’s coming from a separate device in the appropriate location. That means:
- A unique IP address from the right location
- A unique device fingerprint (so Instagram doesn’t see it as the same device)
- Consistent login patterns that match the account’s stated location
This is what Multilogin is built for.
How it works for Instagram desktop:
Multilogin’s antidetect browser creates separate browser profiles; each one looks like a completely different device to Instagram. You assign each profile a residential proxy from the location that account needs to appear to be in. Instagram sees unique device signals (screen resolution, timezone, browser fingerprint, installed fonts, all of it) plus an IP from the right place.
Each Instagram account lives in its own profile. No overlap. No linking. Instagram has no way to connect them because, from its perspective, they’re different people on different devices in different cities.
How it works for Instagram mobile:
Instagram is mostly a mobile app. Stories, Reels, DMs all work better in the app than on desktop. So if you’re doing serious Instagram work, you probably need mobile access.
Multilogin Cloud Phones are real Android devices hosted in the cloud, not emulators but actual physical phones. Each one has:
- A genuine device identity (IMEI, Android ID, hardware fingerprint)
- A built-in mobile proxy that matches the device’s location
- GPS coordinates set to the location you configure
- The Instagram app running natively
For Instagram, this means every account you manage looks like it’s on a real, separate phone in the right location. The device signals Instagram checks (and it checks a lot of them) all match up. No red flags, no security loops, no “suspicious activity” warnings.
This is how agencies actually manage multiple Instagram accounts at scale without getting accounts linked or flagged. It’s the same infrastructure used for multi-account management across all social platforms.
Best Practices for Instagram Location (Depending on What You’re Doing)
If you’re just a regular user:
- Turn on location permissions so Instagram can suggest nearby spots
- Tag posts with real locations to get discovered by people searching those places
- Keep your business profile location accurate if you have one
If you run a business account:
- Your profile location should match where customers can actually find you
- Use location-specific hashtags with your location tags for better reach
- Target ads to where your customers actually are, not just where your office is
If you’re managing multiple accounts:
- Each account needs its own IP from the appropriate location (residential proxies work; cheap VPNs don’t)
- Use isolated browser profiles so Instagram doesn’t link accounts via device fingerprint
- For mobile, genuine device separation matters: cloud phones handle this
If you travel a lot:
- Update your Story location stickers to match where you actually are for authenticity
- Be aware that logging in from new countries can trigger security checks (totally normal, just have your recovery info handy)
- Some features work differently depending on region, so don’t be surprised if things look slightly different
Instagram Location and Security: What Triggers the Alerts
Instagram watches login location as part of how it protects accounts. Understanding this helps you avoid false alarms.
What makes Instagram suspicious:
- Logging in from a country you’ve never accessed the account from before
- Impossible location jumps (New York to London in two hours)
- Using datacenter IPs or known VPN services
- The same device accessing tons of accounts from different locations
How to stay under the radar:
- Use residential proxies (IPs from real homes) instead of datacenter proxies
- Keep each account’s logins consistent: it should generally come from one location
- If you travel for real, just log in normally; Instagram expects people to move around
- For managed accounts that need different locations, proper isolation (separate profiles, location-matched IPs) is key
Need a better way to manage multiple Instagram accounts? Try Multilogin Cloud Phones.
The Bottom Line
Instagram Feature | How to Change | Needs Tech Setup? |
Profile location | Edit Profile → Address | No |
Post location | Add when posting | No |
Story location | Add location sticker | No |
Bio location | Type it in bio field | No |
Ads targeting | Facebook Ads Manager | No |
Filters | Device GPS | Yes |
Background IP location | Residential proxy | Yes |
Device identity | Antidetect browser or cloud phone | Yes |
Changing the location your audience sees (profile, posts, Stories, ads) is straightforward. Changing the location Instagram sees (for security, device verification, multi-account management) requires the right setup.
If you’re managing accounts that genuinely need to appear in different locations (client accounts, regional brands, multi-location businesses), Multilogin handles the infrastructure. Residential proxies for the IP, isolated browser profiles for the fingerprint, and cloud phones for genuine mobile identity.
No verification loops. No “suspicious activity” flags. Just clean, location-consistent Instagram access for every account you manage.
Start from €5.85/month, and stop fighting with Instagram’s security systems.
Frequently asked questions About How to Change Your Location on Instagram
Depends what you mean. Profile location (business accounts): Edit Profile → Page Information → Address. Post location: add it when you share. Your actual location that Instagram reads: that’s your IP and GPS, which requires proxies and device setup to change.
Nope. You can’t edit a location tag after a post or Story goes live. Delete and re-upload if you need to change it.
Tag any location you want on posts and Stories; Instagram doesn’t verify. To make Instagram think you’re actually in a different location (for security, ad targeting, etc.), you need an IP from that location and consistent device signals.
Instagram always sees your IP address. If you want to change what location Instagram reads, you need a proxy from the target location and an isolated browser profile so your device fingerprint doesn’t contradict the IP.
Edit Profile → Page Information → Contact Options → Address. Enter your new location, save. Personal accounts don’t have this field; switch to business or creator first.
Most likely your account is personal (switch to business/creator for profile location), or your location permissions are off (check phone settings), or the location you want isn’t in Instagram’s database.
