Mock my GPS

Android app that mocks the GPS and Network location providers.

Screenshots

Summary

combination of:

• FakeTraveler
• FakeGPS

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Comparison of features in existing apps

FakeTraveler:

• pros:
  • doesn't require root or system permissions
    • only requires setting: Developer > Mock Location
  • includes a minimalist map embedded in a webview
    • nice implementation
    • static html page w/ 2-way javascript binding
• cons:
  • no bookmarks
  • no geo intent filters
  • no ability to "wander" from specified lat/lon

FakeGPS:

• pros:
  • coding is excellent
  • supports 2 ways to "wander" from specified lat/lon
    1. buttons (up, down, left, right) that apply a specified offset to current location
       • accessed via a "joystick" that floats on top of other apps
    2. "fly to"
       • user specifies a 2nd location and how much time it should take to travel there (as the crow flies)
       • recalculates a new intermediate position every 1 second
  • supports bookmarking geo coordinates
• cons:
  • requires root
  • requires installation as a system app
  • does NOT use the 'Mock Location' API
    • hooks directly into low-level APIs
  • "joystick" overlay is not optional
    • always visible when GPS location is fake
  • "joystick" overlay includes unnecessary buttons
  • bookmarks cannot be edited
  • no good way to push a geo coordinate into the app
    • no internal webview with map
    • no geo intent filters

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Design Goals

Combine the best features from all:

FakeTraveler:

• methodology for mocking location (GPS and Network)

FakeGPS:

• overall architecture
• "joystick" and "fly to"

OsmAnd:

• geo intent filters

other considerations:

• though the embedded map in FakeTraveler is elegant
  • the geo intent filters make this unnecessary
    • external mapping software can provide better features
      • Google Maps can work offline
      • OsmAnd can work offline
      • OsmAnd can broadcast geo intents

other enhancements:

• better bookmarks
  • save from fields in UI
  • save from geo intent
  • add from dialog
  • edit from list
• more preferences
  • frequency at which location providers receive mock updates
  • duration for which mock updates are sent to location providers each time the "start" button is pressed
    • 0 holds the special meaning that the duration is indefinite and will continue until the "stop" button is pressed
  • ability to enable/disable "joystick"
  • ability to configure the increment value added to lat/lon values each time a "joystick" button is pressed
  • ability to continue to mock the destination after a trip simulation completes

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Comparison of release APK variations

• Mock-my-GPS vs. Mock-my-GPS-UnifiedNlp-Backend vs. Mock-Silently
  • Mock-my-GPS
    • installation is required
    • minimum supported version of Android: 1.5 (Cupcake, API 3)
    • standalone application
  • Mock-my-GPS-UnifiedNlp-Backend
    • installation is optional
    • minimum supported version of Android: 2.3 (Gingerbread, API 9)
    • backend plugin for UnifiedNlp, which is:
      • typically installed as a component of microG
      • intended for used on de-Googled Android ROMs
      • a drop-in replacement for Google Location Services (GLS)
    • behavior:
      • while Mock-my-GPS is running, Mock-my-GPS-UnifiedNlp-Backend provides mocked location data to UnifiedNlp
      • by default, the timestamp for mocked location data updates is advanced by 45 seconds
        • this causes UnifiedNlp to prioritize the mocked location data, and to effectively ignore location data updates provided by all other backend plugins
    • for more info, refer to:
      • XDA forum
  • Mock-Silently
    • installation is optional
    • minimum supported version of Android: 1.0 (API 1)
    • standalone application
    • purpose:
      • to intercept implicit geo-Intents that originate from 3rd-party software, and cannot be directly configured to include custom extras
    • behavior:
      • add pre-configured values for custom extras to intercepted geo-Intents
      • make the updated geo-Intent explicit to open in Mock-my-GPS
      • start the updated geo-Intent
      • finish without ever showing any visible UI
    • recommendation:
      • while using 3rd-party software to share locations with Mock-my-GPS through implicit geo-Intents, make this the default app to handle implicit geo-Intents
      • when done, revoke this Android setting to re-enable the Activity chooser
• english vs. withAllLanguageTranslations
  • english
    • does not include translated string resources for any other languages
  • withAllLanguageTranslations
    • does include translated string resources for all supported languages
• withAospLocationProviders vs. withGooglePlayServicesFusedLocationProvider vs. withHuaweiMobileServicesFusedLocationProvider
  • withAospLocationProviders
    • supplies mock location data to the following Android Open Source Project (AOSP) location providers:
      • LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER
      • LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER
      • LocationManager.FUSED_PROVIDER
  • withGooglePlayServicesFusedLocationProvider
    • supplies mock location data to the following Android Open Source Project (AOSP) location providers:
      • LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER
      • LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER
      • LocationManager.FUSED_PROVIDER
    • supplies mock location data to the following Google Play Services location providers:
      • FusedLocationProviderClient in the Google Location Services (GLS)
    • requires that Google Play Services is installed, enabled, and sufficiently recent
  • withHuaweiMobileServicesFusedLocationProvider
    • supplies mock location data to the following Android Open Source Project (AOSP) location providers:
      • LocationManager.GPS_PROVIDER
      • LocationManager.NETWORK_PROVIDER
      • LocationManager.FUSED_PROVIDER
    • supplies mock location data to the following Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) location providers:
      • FusedLocationProviderClient in the HMS Core Location Kit
    • requires that Huawei Mobile Services (HMS) is installed, enabled, and sufficiently recent

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Intents

• Latitude and Longitude coordinates are extracted from each Geo-Intent
• the default behavior of the app is to then:
  • display a Dialog to ask the intended "purpose" for the location coordinate extracted from the Geo-Intent
  • display an Activity to allow the user to apply any relevant configuration for the intended "purpose" before starting or updating the Service
• Extras in the Intent can be used to streamline this behavior:
  • (integer) purpose
    • 1 = fixed position
    • 2 = trip origin
    • 3 = trip destination
    • 4 = new bookmark
  • (boolean) silent_update
    • only works in combination with:
      • purpose having a value of either: 1 or 3
    • default: FALSE
  • (boolean) force_start
    • only works in combination with:
      • purpose having a value of: 1
      • silent_update having a value of: TRUE
    • default: FALSE
  • (integer) trip_duration_seconds
    • only works in combination with:
      • purpose having a value of: 3
      • silent_update having a value of: TRUE
    • default: 60

Example:

• using the app: Bookmarks
• Intent configurations:
  1. fixed position
     • Name = (fixed position) New York City: Central Park
     • Action = android.intent.action.VIEW
     • Package Name = com.github.warren_bank.mock_location
     • Class Name = com.github.warren_bank.mock_location.ui.GeoIntentActivity
     • Data URI = geo:40.78290,-73.96567
     • Extras:
       1. Name = purpose
          • Type of Value = int
          • Value = 1
       2. Name = silent_update
          • Type of Value = boolean
          • Value = TRUE
  2. trip destination
     • Name = (trip destination) San Francisco: Golden Gate Park
     • Action = android.intent.action.VIEW
     • Package Name = com.github.warren_bank.mock_location
     • Class Name = com.github.warren_bank.mock_location.ui.GeoIntentActivity
     • Data URI = geo:37.76914,-122.48301
     • Extras:
       1. Name = purpose
          • Type of Value = int
          • Value = 3
       2. Name = silent_update
          • Type of Value = boolean
          • Value = TRUE
       3. Name = trip_duration_seconds
          • Type of Value = int
          • Value = 3000

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Legal:

• copyright: Warren Bank
• license: GPL-2.0