Getting Started with Geolocation Testing in Real Devices

In recent trends, geological testing is used in almost every software company. Because these days, we can see a trend of home delivery of everything. From medicine, grocery to food and fashion items, everything has its e-commerce company. And these companies use websites and software applications to access the user’s location to work seamlessly and provide the best service. 

The geological test automation process involves the activity of accessing the user’s location and using them for various purposes. This testing uses geographical data to test against their website or web application so that it can provide the best possible result across various geographical locations. In this article, you will see what is geographical test automation, how you can perform geological testing, and various terminologies related to it.

What is Geolocation Testing

Geolocation testing is a test automation process that is used to collect data from real devices in real time. These collected data are then used for various purposes. These data are organized on the basis of users’ location and device accordingly. There are basically two types of data collected from this geolocation testing. The first one is active user or active device-based data and the second one is passive user or passive-device based data. 

Both these data types are then arranged and analyzed to provide the best possible result for the software application and devices. 

Geolocation testing allows the organization to collect data in real time from the real user across various devices. And then these data are utilized to coordinate with the application server which helps to make the best working and functioning of the software application according to the user’s location.

Geolocation testing is a very important factor in the field of software testing. Because the software company will always want to make their application or website available for a huge range of populations across different types of geological locations and physical terrain of the globe. That will help them to give tough competition to the contemporary competitive companies.

Need for Geolocation Testing

Geolocation is not only what the user sees on their application. For example, suppose a food delivery application asks to enable your current location. The user just thinks that the application is knowing our location to evaluate the delivery charge of the food or the estimated time that will take to deliver the food at that specific location. But it isn’t only about these things. There are far more utilizations of these collected geological data. Given below are some of the cases where the software organization uses your geolocation information. 

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The data collected by performing the geological test for automation testing is also used for advertisement purposes. A survey conducted by the tech giant company, Google, suggests that there are 8.5 billion searches per day and almost 99k searches per second over the Google search engine. These searches are done to find the necessary information by the users. The company can use this huge amount of search preferences and likes to make a data analysis about the user’s choice and location. According to the top e-commerce company Amazon, it is stated that the company will have created 700 billion USD in the year 2021 by advertisement only.

Regional Protocols

Anything over the internet is shared globally. but there are regions defined on the internet that have limitations and protocols. The Limitations of these regions are defined by various factors such as the population living there, the physical terrain, the political issues and limitations, etc. For example, if you search for a video over the video browsing application YouTube, and you find the video and you can stream it. But it may be possible that this particular video you will not be able to stream it in some other region of the globe. There may be some reasons for that. Like, the video owner does not want to show their video for your specific region because it may violate the policy and rules of that place.

Security Issues

Geolocation is also very important with the concern of security. Geolocation testing is done to improve the security risks of a specific software application or website in that particular geological location. It makes sure that the project is suitable for that location or not. For example, it is very useful in the banking sector and online payment applications. Suppose, if you are using the Google Pay application and you are from London. This application always allows location permission to complete any transaction of the application such as fund transfer, balance check, etc. You do a money transfer transaction from that location. And again if there is a transaction from Australia for your account, then there must be chances of fraud or account hacking. It will then immediately stop the transaction and the fraud can be prevented. 

Terminologies Related to Geological Testing

If you are in the field of geological testing for software applications or websites, then you will come across some terminologies such as geofencing, localization, etc. These are very common and important terms that are used while performing geological test automation. The tester or the reading individual must be familiar with these terms. Given below are these terms described in a brief manner.

Geofencing

Geofencing is made by combining two words that are geo and fencing. The meaning of these words geo means the “terrain or land mass” and the word fencing means “to create a boundary or wall”. Together they make a wall around the land mass. Geofencing is the process of creating a virtual boundary for a specific decided land mass. All the features and facilities of the software application of the website will work in accordance with that geofencing. If the user gets outside of that virtual boundary, the server will automatically inform the team and the appropriate action will be taken on that application. It helps to prevent any kind of fraud or illegal work. One Of the best examples of geofencing is the sim cards that we use in mobiles. If you travel outside your state, you automatically get a text message that shows all the details about changes in your server and range. 

Localization

Localization is the concept of taking data from the user on the basis of their native region and customization of product suggestions and other activities. There are various factors that are responsible to predict your localized suggestion such as your sim card language, your current time zone, the currency that you use in that specific location, etc. 

Geotargeting

Geotargeting is the concept that is used in the test automation process during software or website testing for various geological regions. It is the process of targeting the right audience for a specific product. The software company collects the data from users’ devices and analyzes them. They compare the locations, their product choices, preferences, etc. This helps to improve the market strategy and enhance the business of an organization. For example, suppose you are streaming video on the YouTube application. Whatever you stream that describes your choice preference and the application will use this data to suggest the appropriate advertisements to you.

Geoblocking

Geoblocking is the process of restricting the use to access some content on the basis of their geographical location. If the user gets outside that predetermined geofence, then the application or website will not respond to the user. There can be various reasons for this like political issues, communal issues, etc. For example, there is a short film based on a specific real event. It may not be appropriate for some states or locations. Then the company put some restrictions on that content on the basis of location.

Geotagging

Geotagging content is the process in test automation where the testing team tags photographs, movies, and other files, on the basis of the geographical location and feature. This tagging of the content and files are done on the basis of how the software is implemented. The software may only tag the longitude and latitude, or it may tag the accuracy, UNIX timestamp, or place names directly.

Several real-world applications for geotagging are available, and a few of them have an impact on us all when it applies to interacting on social media. Popular geotagging tools are available on social media applications such as Facebook and Instagram. It enhances the user’s search for the precise place in other photographs. When a user looks for a location-related query, geotagging enables search engines in identifying accurate results.

Geomessaging

Geomessaging is the term used for the process of transferring any type of media or text message to another device together with geographical details. SOS messages sent to emergency contacts that offer their current locations in terms of latitude and longitude are a typical example.

Geolocation Testing on Real Devices

Geolocation testing can be done using various tools and platforms. In this section, you will show how you can use LambdaTest to perform the geolocation test automation. Using this tool has several advantages that make this platform a prior choice among the software and website testing community. Given below are the steps that you need to follow: 

1. You need to open the LambdaTest platform on your system. On the dashboard, go to the Real Time testing section. Here, you can go to the Real-Device testing to perform geological testing on the real devices.
2. Then click on Real Device > Real Time. 

 

1. Then you need to select the type of application testing option. There are options such as REAL TIME SESSIONS, AUTOMATION SESSIONS, etc. The tester can choose according to their need and the type of software they are using for the geological testing process.
2. Then upload your application.
3. After that, you need to select the operating system type. There are numerous options such as iOS, Android, etc. After that, an emulator will open on the screen according to the type of operating system and device you have selected. This is managed by the cloud service.
4. Then you can select the location on the left side of the screen as shown below. On clicking the location icon, a drop-down menu will appear on the screen. From here you can select the name of the country according to your choice. 

Doing this will lead you to the specific country where you want to perform a geological test automation process for your software application. 

Summary 

Geolocation testing is a test automation process that is used to collect data from real devices in real time and use them to increase software performance. There are various aspects in which the software company uses the collected data such as for advertisement, for increasing security facilities, to restrict some content over the geological locations, etc. Various platforms can be used to perform test automation for geological testing. In this article, you can read and understand the geological testing on LambdaTest. Hope you get an idea about the serological testing and various aspects of it.