Connect and authorize
Plug in your own or authorized iPhone, unlock it, accept Trust, and enable Developer Mode if iOS asks.
Built for iOS product teams
Test every place.
Location simulation for iOS development, testing and demos. Connect your own or authorized iPhone by USB, choose a place or route, and keep control on your Mac.
Local-first USB controlled Authorized devices only
USB
Local-only
No account
No PinShift accountOpen the app and work locally.
No default telemetryNo analytics or advertising trackers.
Explicit restoreThe restore action stays available.
Mac onlyPublic release qualification in progress.
How it works
From cable to test case in three deliberate steps.
PinShift uses Apple's developer-location services on an unlocked, trusted iPhone. It does not bypass device security, Apple restrictions, or Developer Mode requirements.
Choose a test scenario
Search a place, paste coordinates, define a precision radius, or build a multi-stop street route.
Simulate, verify, restore
Run your app or demo, verify the behavior you control, then stop and restore the real location before disconnecting.
Appropriate use cases
Designed around legitimate product work.
Use one tool for location-sensitive development, repeatable QA, regional review, and clear product demonstrations on devices you are allowed to test.
Location-aware apps & geofencing
Exercise nearby content, entry and exit logic, permissions, and fallback behavior without rebuilding your physical environment.
Regional experiences & edge cases
Review localization, availability, coordinate precision, empty states, and location-dependent content from one repeatable test setup.
Product captures that tell the right story
Prepare consented demonstrations, product screenshots, and recordings without walking through every route during the session.
Movement, timing & multi-stop flows
Simulate short loops or street-following walking, cycling, and driving paths with configurable pace and dwell time.
Hold one coordinate with Fixed.
Choose a point from the map, address search, pasted coordinates, favorites, or recents. Fixed mode keeps that coordinate active while you inspect the experience on your iPhone.
- Precise latitude and longitude input
- Search and saved test locations
- Visible active state with elapsed time
- Persistent Stop and restore real location action
ModeFixed
SourceManual or map
RestoreAlways visible
Probe the edge with Precision.
Sample controlled nearby points inside a configurable radius. Precision mode helps expose geofence boundaries, rounding behavior, coordinate jitter assumptions, and overly brittle proximity logic.
- Configurable radius around a stable test center
- Optional deterministic seed for repeatable runs
- Measured distance from the selected center
- Useful for geofence and near-boundary QA
ModePrecision
SamplingInside radius
RunsRepeatable seed
Turn routes into repeatable scenarios.
Micro Route creates continuous movement around a small loop. Pro Route builds multi-stop walking, cycling, or driving paths that follow mapped streets when the routing provider succeeds.
- Walking, cycling, driving, and custom pace
- Variable speed, brief stops, and stop dwell time
- Multiple route alternatives where available
- Pause, resume, progress, and explicit restore
ProfilesWalk · Bike · Car
PaceFixed or variable
StopsOptional dwell
Privacy
Local-first is an architecture, not a badge.
PinShift has no account system, proprietary location backend, advertising tracker, or default telemetry. Local data controls remain visible and understandable.
Your working data stays local.
Favorites, recent locations, settings, and redacted activity remain on your Mac. Device identifiers and personal paths are masked in user-facing technical output.
- No PinShift account or Apple ID access
- No advertising cookies or fingerprinting
- No default analytics or telemetry
Network use is explicit and documented.
Map tiles, search, reverse geocoding, street routing, and missing developer-support files may contact the disclosed providers when you use those features. Manual coordinates remain available when map services are offline.
Read the full privacy explanationDevice requirements
Nothing hidden. Nothing bypassed.
PinShift works within Apple's normal trust and developer-access model. It will not bypass passcodes, Trust, Developer Mode, Activation Lock, MDM, or other Apple restrictions.
| Computer | A Mac matching an architecture marked available in the qualified release panel. Apple Silicon and Intel builds are verified separately. |
|---|---|
| iPhone | An unlocked iPhone that you own or are explicitly authorized to test. |
| Connection | A reliable USB cable and an accepted Trust prompt. |
| Developer access | Developer Mode may be required by iOS and must be enabled on the device when prompted. |
PinShift cannot verify that Find My changed successfully. Apple services can cache or interpret location separately from the developer-service command.
Product tour
See the test state before you send it.
Clean captures from PinShift's explicit demo environment show the map, active restore state, route builder, settings, and both appearance modes without personal device data.
Download
A public DMG only when macOS trusts it.
The release feed publishes architecture, size, compatibility, SHA-256, signing, notarization, and release notes. Any architecture that does not pass every qualification gate remains unavailable.
Release qualification in progress
Public download coming soon
We will enable downloads only after the DMG passes Developer ID signing, notarization, Gatekeeper, and clean-install checks.
Apple Silicon
M-series Macs · Not available
Intel
Intel-based Macs · Not available
The site never falls back to a local path, private asset, unsigned build, or unverified URL.
FAQ
Direct answers before you connect a device.
The short version: use an authorized iPhone, expect USB and Developer Mode requirements, and restore the real location when the test is over.
What is iOS location simulation?
iOS location simulation uses Apple developer services to present test coordinates to apps on an authorized device. It is useful for development, QA, regional reviews, geofencing tests, product demos, and route testing. It does not modify the iPhone's GPS hardware.
Read the technical overviewHow do I test an iOS app in another location?
Connect your own or authorized iPhone by USB, unlock it, accept Trust, enable Developer Mode if iOS requires it, choose a coordinate in PinShift, and start a simulation. Keep the device connected while testing, then use Stop and restore real location before disconnecting.
Follow the setup guideDoes PinShift require Developer Mode?
It can. PinShift relies on Apple developer-location services and does not bypass iOS requirements. On supported iOS versions, the device may require Developer Mode, a restart, and on-device confirmation before those services are available.
Does PinShift upload location data?
PinShift has no account system, proprietary location backend, analytics, or telemetry by default. Favorites, recents, and redacted activity stay on your Mac. Map tiles, search, reverse geocoding, street routing, and missing developer-support files can contact the disclosed third-party providers when you use those features.
Review the privacy detailsHow do I restore my real location?
Use the always-available Stop and restore real location action before unplugging the iPhone. If a clear attempt fails, PinShift deliberately keeps the interface in a potentially-active state and leaves the restore action available so you can retry after reconnecting or unlocking the device.
Restore troubleshootingDoes PinShift work with iOS 18?
PinShift uses a version-aware bridge for modern iOS developer services, including the iOS 17-and-later workflow used by iOS 18. Apple can change device services between releases, so compatibility is validated per PinShift build and is never guaranteed for every device or point release.
Check current compatibility notesWhy does the iPhone need to stay connected?
The USB connection lets the Mac discover the authorized iPhone and communicate with Apple's local developer services. PinShift does not use an Apple ID, cloud account, remote agent, or hidden background persistence to control the device.
What is the difference between Fixed and Route mode?
Fixed holds one coordinate until you restore the real location. Micro Route moves continuously around a small configurable loop, while Pro Route follows a calculated multi-stop street route with walking, cycling, driving, pace, stop, and dwell controls.
Open source & licensing
Inspectable code, explicit license boundaries.
The Tauri and frontend code is MIT-licensed. The packaged Python bridge and pymobiledevice3 distribution are GPL-3.0-or-later, with corresponding source and notices included alongside an installer.
Source & build transparency
The architecture, security model, bridge contract, tests, third-party notices, and packaging recipe are documented for review. Public source access will be linked only after the repository is intentionally published.
PinShift Pro
Advanced product support and team workflows can be explored later. No price, entitlement, or paywall is being claimed today.
Support development
Sponsorship, newsletter, and early-access options are reserved without tracking forms or fabricated availability.
Changelog
Progress with dates and release context.
- Added the public Astro site with product, documentation, privacy, security, support, and FAQ pages.
- Added a fail-closed release manifest so an unqualified DMG cannot become a public download by accident.
- Documented GitHub Release and Cloudflare R2 metadata synchronization for future signed releases.
Ready when the release is
Build location confidence into every test run.
Read the setup guide now. Download links will activate automatically only when a qualified public Mac release exists.