Delivery riders, motorists, and commuters across the UAE have been left baffled in recent days after navigation apps began showing their locations in the middle of the Arabian Gulf, hundreds of kilometres off course, or even across international borders — prompting a wave of humour online but also raising questions about what is behind the disruptions.
According to Khaleej Times, the glitches have been particularly noticeable on widely used platforms such as Google Maps and Waze, with some clips going viral on Instagram showing drivers on Sheikh Zayed Road being told by their apps they are somewhere in open water — even as the Burj Khalifa looms clearly in the windscreen ahead of them.
Riders making deliveries have shared similar footage, with drop-off points appearing to shift to desert areas or coastal waters far removed from the actual address. A real estate agent named Sangam turned the situation into a public service announcement of sorts, half-jokingly urging new licence holders to get familiar with the roads on their own terms before trusting navigation tools that, as he put it, could steer the unsuspecting into a neighbouring country.
Mahammad Haneef, head of digital transformation at MBRSC Lab, told Khaleej Times the behaviour is consistent with known effects of security-related signal interference during periods of regional tension.
“During times of regional tension, authorities may implement security measures to protect sensitive locations. These measures can sometimes affect GPS signals, which navigation apps like Google Maps rely on, leading to temporary location errors or unusual routes,” Haneef said.
He identified two specific techniques that can produce these effects. “GPS jamming involves blocking signals, while GPS spoofing sends false signals to devices. Because civilian navigation apps rely on the same satellite signals, these actions can sometimes cause inaccurate locations or unexpected routes to appear on apps,” he said.
Haneef was quick to draw a distinction between interference and a systemic failure of the apps themselves. “Apps like Google Maps have strong security systems and generally function normally. Most of the time, disruptions are related to signal interference or security measures rather than cyberattacks,” he said.
Even minor signal degradation is enough to throw a device off temporarily, though the effect is typically short-lived. “Minor interference can result in a navigation app showing the wrong location for a short period of time. In most cases, the system corrects itself quickly once the signal stabilises,” Haneef added.
