How to Detect Fake Location in iOS Apps Using AI
This Knowledge Base article describes how to use Appdome’s AI/ML in your CI/CD pipeline to continuously deliver plugins that Detect Fake Location in iOS apps.
What Is a Fake Location Attack?
A Fake Location Attack on iOS exploits vulnerabilities in how apps process location data by manipulating Core Location APIs. Attackers intercept or modify API calls to deliver false location data without traditional fake GPS apps, often using jailbreaking or code injection techniques to alter location responses at the system level. This enables attackers to bypass geolocation-based restrictions, access location-specific services, and manipulate login verifications or transactions. The rise of AI-powered agents that autonomously modify location data in real-time compounds the challenge of detecting such attacks, significantly elevating risks of fraud and unauthorized access. Protecting against these threats is critical for compliance with standards like PSD2 and PCI DSS, which require secure, verified handling of sensitive data to prevent manipulation and fraud.
How Appdome Protects Mobile Apps Against Fake Location Attacks?
Appdome’s dynamic Detect Fake Location plugin for iOS protects against device-level geolocation tampering, where attackers manipulate system-level GPS data to spoof locations and bypass app restrictions. The plugin continuously monitors the iOS environment for location manipulation attempts, such as forged GPS coordinates, altered location services settings, and tampered Core Location APIs. It detects tools like GPS spoofing apps, custom scripts, and jailbreak modules that inject fake location data into the device’s geolocation services. The plugin triggers appropriate responses, such as sending telemetric data regarding Fake Location to the developer’s backend systems to define the appropriate next-step workflow for the affected user. Mobile developers can leverage Appdome’s Threat-Events™ to collect detailed data on device-level geolocation tampering events and create customized in-app responses based on detected threats.
Prerequisites for Using Appdome's Detect Fake Location Plugins:
To use Appdome’s mobile app security build system to Detect Fake Location , you’ll need:
- Appdome account (create a free Appdome account here)
- A license for Detect Fake Location
- Mobile App (.ipa for iOS)
- Signing Credentials (see Signing Secure Android apps and Signing Secure iOS apps)
How to Implement Detect Fake Location in iOS Apps Using Appdome
On Appdome, follow these 3 simple steps to create self-defending iOS Apps that Detect Fake Location without an SDK or gateway:
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Designate the Mobile App to be protected.
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Upload an app via the Appdome Mobile Defense platform GUI or via Appdome’s DEV-API or CI/CD Plugins.
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iOS Formats: .ipa
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Detect Fake Location is compatible with: Obj-C, Java, Swift, Flutter, React Native, Unity, Xamarin, Cordova and other iOS apps.
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Select the defense: Detect Fake Location.
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Follow the steps in Sections 2.2-2.2.2 of this article to add the Detect Fake Location feature to your Fusion Set via the Appdome Console.
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When you select the Detect Fake Location you'll notice that the Fusion Set you created in step 2.1 now bears the icon of the protection category that contains Detect Fake Location.
Figure 2: Fusion Set that displays the newly added Detect Fake Location protection
Note: Annotating the Fusion Set to identify the protection(s) selected is optional only (not mandatory). -
Open the Fusion Set Detail Summary by clicking the “...” symbol on the far-right corner of the Fusion Set. Copy the Fusion Set ID from the Fusion Set Detail Summary (as shown below):
Figure 3: Fusion Set Detail Summary
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Follow the instructions below to use the Fusion Set ID inside any standard mobile DevOps or CI/CD toolkit like Bitrise, Jenkins, Travis, Team City, Circle CI or other system:
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Refer to the Appdome API Reference Guide for API building instructions.
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Look for sample APIs in Appdome’s GitHub Repository.
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Create and name the Fusion Set (security template) that will contain the Detect Fake Location feature as shown below:Figure 1: Fusion Set that will contain the Detect Fake Location feature
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Add the Detect Fake Location feature to your security template.
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Navigate to Build > Security tab > Secure Communication section in the Appdome Console.
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Toggle OnDetect Fake Location.
(a) Choose to monitor this attack vector by checking the Threat Events checkbox associated with Detect Fake Location as shown below.
(b) To receive mobile Threat Monitoring, check the ThreatScope™ box as shown below. For more details, see our knowledge base article on ThreatScope™ Mobile XDR.Figure 4: Selecting Detect Fake Location
Note: The Appdome Platform displays the Mobile Operation Systems supported by each defense in real-time. For more details, see our OS Support Policy KB. -
Select the Threat-Event™ in-app mobile Threat Defense and Intelligence policy for Detect Fake Location:
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Threat-Events™ OFF > In-App Defense
If the Threat-Events™ setting is not selected. Appdome will detect and defend the user and app by enforcing Fake Location.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Detection
When this setting is used, Appdome detects when hooking frameworks and other methods are used to modify values returned by the GPS API and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing, enforcement, and user notification. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ to Detect Detect Fake Location Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Threat-Events™ ON > In-App Defense
When this setting is used, Appdome detects and defends against Fake Location (same as Appdome Enforce) and passes Appdome’s Threat-Event™ attack intelligence to the app’s business logic for processing. For more information on consuming and using Appdome Threat-Events™ in the app, see section Using Threat-Events™ for Detect Detect Fake Location Intelligence and Control in Mobile Apps.
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Configure the User Experience Options for Detect Fake Location:
With Threat-Events™ OFF, Appdome provides several user experience options for mobile brands and developers.- App Compromise Notification: Customize the pop-up or toast Appdome uses to notify the user when a threat is present while using the protected mobile app.
- Short message Option. This is available for mobile devices that allow a banner notification for security events.
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Localized Message Option. Allows Appdome users to support global languages in security notifications.
Figure 5: Default User Experience Options for Appdome’s Fake Location
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Detect Fake Location Threat Code™. Appdome uses AI/ML to generate a unique code each time Detect Fake Location is triggered by an active threat on the mobile device. Use the code in Appdome Threat Resolution Center™ to help end users identify, find and resolve active threats on the personal mobile devices.
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Congratulations! The Detect Fake Location protection is now added to the mobile app -
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Certify the Detect Fake Location feature in iOS Apps
After building Detect Fake Location, Appdome generates a Certified Secure™ certificate to guarantee that the Detect Fake Location protection has been added and is protecting the app. To verify that the Detect Fake Location protection has been added to the mobile app, locate the protection in the Certified Secure™ certificate as shown below:
Figure 6: Certified Secure™ certificate
Each Certified Secure™ certificate provides DevOps and DevSecOps organizations the entire workflow summary, audit trail of each build, and proof of protection that Detect Fake Location has been added to each iOS app. Certified Secure provides instant and in-line DevSecOps compliance certification that Detect Fake Location and other mobile app security features are in each build of the mobile app.
Using Threat-Events™ for Fake Location Intelligence and Control in iOS Apps
Appdome Threat-Events™ provides consumable in-app mobile app attack intelligence and defense control when Fake Location is detected. To consume and use Threat-Events™ for Fake Location in iOS Apps, use AddObserverForName in Notification Center, and the code samples for Threat-Events™ for Fake Location shown below.
The specifications and options for Threat-Events™ for Fake Location are:
Threat-Event™ Elements | Detect Fake Location Method Detail |
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Appdome Feature Name | Detect Fake Location |
Threat-Event Mode | |
OFF, IN-APP DEFENSE | Appdome detects, defends and notifies user (standard OS dialog) using customizable messaging. |
ON, IN-APP DETECTION | Appdome detects the attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (app chooses how and when to enforce). |
ON, IN-APP DEFENSE | Uses Appdome Enforce mode for any attack or threat and passes the event in a standard format to the app for processing (gather intel on attacks and threats without losing any protection). |
Certified Secure™ Threat Event Check | |
Visible in ThreatScope™ | |
Developer Parameters for Detecting Fake Location Threat-Event™ | |
Threat-Event NAME | GeoLocationSpoofingDetected |
Threat-Event DATA | reasonData |
Threat-Event CODE | reasonCode |
Threat-Event REF | 6801 |
Threat-Event SCORE | |
currentThreatEventScore | Current Threat-Event score |
threatEventsScore | Total Threat-events score |
Threat-Event Context Keys | |
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message | Message displayed for the user on event |
failSafeEnforce | Timed enforcement against the identified threat |
externalID | The external ID of the event which can be listened via Threat Events |
osVersion | OS version of the current device |
deviceModel | Current device model |
deviceManufacturer | The manufacturer of the current device |
fusedAppToken | The task ID of the Appdome fusion of the currently running app |
kernelInfo | Info about the kernel: system name, node name, release, version and machine. |
deviceID | Current device ID |
reasonCode | Reason code of the occurred event |
buildDate | Appdome fusion date of the current application |
devicePlatform | OS name of the current device |
updatedOSVersion | Is the OS version up to date |
timeZone | Time zone |
deviceFaceDown | Is the device face down |
locationLong | Location longitude conditioned by location permission |
locationLat | Location latitude conditioned by location permission |
locationState | Location state conditioned by location permission |
wifiSsid | Wifi SSID |
wifiSsidPermissionStatus | Wifi SSID permission status |
threatCode | The last six characters of the threat code specify the OS, allowing the Threat Resolution Center to address the attack on the affected device. |
With Threat-Events™ enabled (turned ON), iOS developers can get detailed attack intelligence and granular defense control in iOS applications and create amazing user experiences for all mobile end users when Fake Location is detected.
The following is a code sample for native iOS apps, which uses all values in the specification above for Detect Fake Location:
Important! Replace all placeholder instances of <Context Key> with the specific name of your threat event context key across all language examples. This is crucial to ensure your code functions correctly with the intended event data. For example, The <Context Key> could be the message, externalID, OS Version, reason code, etc.
x
let center = NotificationCenter.default
center.addObserver(forName: Notification.Name("GeoLocationSpoofingDetected"), object: nil, queue: nil) { (note) in
guard let usrInf = note.userInfo else {
return
}
let message = usrInf["message"]; // Message shown to the user
let reasonData = usrInf["reasonData"]; // Threat detection cause
let reasonCode = usrInf["reasonCode"]; // Event reason code
// Current threat event score
let currentThreatEventScore = usrInf["currentThreatEventScore"];
// Total threat events score
let threatEventsScore = usrInf["threatEventsScore"];
// Replace '<Context Key>' with your specific event context key
// let variable = usrInf["<Context Key>"];
// Your logic goes here (Send data to Splunk/Dynatrace/Show Popup...)
}
Using Appdome, there are no development or coding prerequisites to build secured iOS Apps by using Detect Fake Location. There is no SDK and no library to code or implement in the app and no gateway to deploy in your network. All protections are built into each app and the resulting app is self-defending and self-protecting.
Releasing and Publishing Mobile Apps with Detect Fake Location
After successfully securing your app by using Appdome, there are several available options to complete your project, depending on your app lifecycle or workflow. These include:
- Customizing, Configuring & Branding Secure Mobile Apps.
- Deploying/Publishing Secure mobile apps to Public or Private app stores.
- Releasing Secured Android & iOS Apps built on Appdome.
Related Articles:
- How to Implement VPN Detection for Android & iOS Apps
- How to Block Shell Code Injection and Exploits
- Testing Anti Remote Desktop Control for iOS in Zoom
- Testing Anti Remote Desktop Control for Android in AnyDesk
How Do I Learn More?
If you have any questions, please send them our way at support.appdome.com or via the chat window on the Appdome platform.
Thank you!
Thanks for visiting Appdome! Our mission is to secure every app on the planet by making mobile app security easy. We hope we’re living up to the mission with your project.