Location obfuscation is a technique used in location-based services or information systems to protect the location of the users by slightly altering, substituting or generalizing their location in order to avoid reflecting their real position.
A formal definition of location obfuscation can be "the means of deliberately degrading the quality of information about an individual's location in order to protect that individual's location privacy.
[1] The most common techniques to perform this change are: Each technique for obfuscating location has strengths and weaknesses, and it is important to assess them based on each use case.
For example, adding random noise is simple to implement, but can inadvertently create a circle of obfuscated values where the center reveals the individual's exact location.
One should also consider the level of obfuscation required in urban areas versus rural areas.