DEVOPSdigest

BrowserStack announced the release of geolocation testing, enabling support of global IP addresses, in addition to GPS on real devices.

The new IP and GPS geolocation capabilities enable testing of websites and mobile apps from different locations around the world on over 1,200 browsers and devices, with no setup, configuration or maintenance required.

Geolocation is a core technology widely used by businesses to build websites and mobile apps that deliver services or marketing to customers based on their location. Websites typically detect user location using IP geolocation, while mobile apps utilize GPS geolocation. There are countless applications of geolocation in the market, including: on-demand location services such as GrubHub; hyperlocal advertising; geotargeting based on country; region-specific content restrictions like Netflix; multilingual content; and many more.

Geolocation testing is a business-critical use case. Businesses need to verify the functionality of their location-based user scenarios across target markets to ensure their websites or mobile apps behave as expected for customers in different regions. Current challenges include: access to worldwide locations on demand; the overhead of fragmented tooling and internal operations; compromising speed and accuracy.

“At BrowserStack, we are committed to equipping teams with end-to-end tools and capabilities, all in one place, to test and deliver quality at scale,” said Praveen Umanath, Senior Product Manager at BrowserStack. “Geolocation testing has historically been a pain point, especially across a wide range of browsers and devices. With this release, all your geolocation testing needs are now covered.”

Benefits of BrowserStack’s geolocation testing service include:

- GPS geolocation: Simulate the exact location of any real device by using geographic coordinates or Google Maps. Available on Live, Automate, App Live and App Automate.

- IP geolocation: Simulate user behavior from different locations by testing with secure, private IPs hosted in 45+ countries around the world. Available on Live, Automate and App Automate. Coming soon on App Live.

- Worldwide locations on demand: Choose from our exhaustive coverage of GPS & IP locations to start testing instantly.

- Out-of-the-box solution: Zero setup, configuration and internal maintenance of IPs is required. Eliminate use of iOS and Android emulators or APIs for GPS geolocation.

- Productivity: Fits seamlessly into existing workflows without slowing you down with tedious tasks like configuring VPNs, or sub-par performance from fragmented tooling or complex workarounds.

- Usability: Intuitive user interface with convenient features like searching on Google Maps, default locations and history of last five test locations.