If you didn’t know, the content on various streaming services varies depending on your location. That’s because streaming services have to use geo-blocks to protect licensing agreements, copyright restrictions, and regional regulations. It’s incredibly annoying, especially if the show or movie is available in another country’s library on the same platform.
Thankfully, there is an easy way around these senseless restrictions. A VPN for streaming is a dynamic solution to bypass these limitations and unlock a world of diverse content.
In this article, you’ll learn about geo-blocks on streaming services and how to bypass them with a VPN. Moreover, you’ll find the best free streaming services you can access with a virtual private network.
What are geo-blocks on streaming services?
Geographic restrictions or regional blocks on streaming services are measures that prevent you from seeing content in your current location. They are usually put in place to enforce and protect licensing agreements, copyright laws, and control distribution in different regions.
Most streaming services will examine your IP address to determine where you are and either give you access to the content or prevent you from entering. For example, you may try to access BBC iPlayer in the US. However, the platform will detect that you are not in the United Kingdom and won’t let you enjoy top British shows.
While geo-blocks are used for legitimate purposes, it can be pretty frustrating running into them. You can use a top-tier streaming VPN to avoid pesky geo-blocks and enjoy endless hours of new content.
Benefits of using a streaming VPN
VPN is primarily used to boost your privacy and security online. However, if you’re an avid streamer, you can also benefit from it. You see, a VPN can encrypt your data, give you a new IP address, and change your location. That way, you can connect to other regions and see more or different content on streaming services.
For example, you can bypass YouTube TV location restrictions and stream out-of-market sports, shows, and movies unavailable in your area. The same applies to international services like Netflix. Unlike the US version, Netflix in other countries contains The Office, Harry Potter, Great British Bake Off, and other fantastic content.
Plus, as streaming requires a lot of data, internet service providers (ISPs) may throttle your bandwidth to avoid massive server congestion. But that results in poor connectivity, lagging, and endless loading screens. Luckily, as VPN can mask your traffic, your ISP won’t see what you are up to, and in turn, won’t limit your data. Thus, you can watch things in 4K quality anywhere.
Best free streaming services you can unblock for more content
If you don’t want to spend extra money on different streaming services, here’s a list of free platforms that you can unblock with a VPN:
| Streaming service | Where it’s available | Shows & movies it contains |
| BBC iPlayer | The UK | Doctor Who, RuPaul’s Drag Race Down Under, Killing Eve |
| 9Now | Australia | Love Island UK, The Ashes Cricket, 90 Day Fiancé |
| Channel 4 | The UK | Made in Chelsea, The Great British Bake Off |
| Pluto TV | USA, the UK, Canada, Europe | One Piece, Vikings, Survivor, Top Gear |
| 10Play | Australia | Friends, Bojack Horseman, Bachelor |
Things to consider before streaming with a VPN
While using VPNs is totally legal in most countries globally, there are a few things you should consider before streaming with one:
- Free VPNs will most likely won’t work. These services have very limited servers and speeds globally. Moreover, some of them even impose data caps. Not to mention, all of their IP addresses are already blocklisted by streaming services. Thus, avoid free streaming VPNs.
- Some paid VPNs are not fit for streaming. Before getting a virtual private network, make sure it can easily bypass geo-blocks and firewalls. We recommend checking forums and Reddit and picking a reputable provider.
- Majority of streaming services actively block VPNs. Changing your location and IP address to access content is against most streaming services’ ToS. If you get caught using a VPN, it could lead to account termination and, in some cases, fines.
Conclusion
Due to various agreements and laws, the content on most streaming platforms varies from country to country. That means the shows on Netflix UK might not be present on the US version of the service. Therefore, getting a VPN is a wise decision if you want to avoid overspending and see more international content.
A reliable virtual private network for streaming will let you change your IP address, so you can easily hop through regions. So, you can find your favorite shows or explore new overseas content!