Virtual private networks, or VPNs, are commonly used to dodge regional restrictions on streaming services. Say you live in the U.S. and want to watch a new episode of Love Island before it hits Hulu. If you connect to a VPN server in the UK, where the free streaming platform ITVX has distribution rights for the show, you’ll get a new British IP address that lets you skirt the geolock. (Suddenly you’re the hot new bombshell entering the villa, so to speak.)
Sounds simple, right? It can be, if you have a VPN that’s up to the task. Streaming services don’t take kindly to VPNs because they let people evade their content licensing restrictions, and many of them have gotten really good at detecting VPN usage. Some VPN services can’t bypass their blocking methods.
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As Mashable’s resident VPN expert, I also think it’s important to recognize that accessing international streaming services is actually a secondary use case for VPNs. The main purpose of having a VPN is to add an extra layer of privacy to your internet connection so your ISP, advertisers, and other prying eyes can’t see everything you’re doing online. A VPN gets exclusive access to your traffic when you’re connected to it, so it needs to abide by strict privacy practices and maintain a clean track record. If a VPN is good at unblocking international shows but shoddy in the way it handles your data, that’s not a good deal.
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