Have you ever sat back and actually considered how many streaming platforms we have to choose from these days? There's a lot of them, which is a good and bad thing. Sure, it's great to have so many options to consider, but there's also such a thing as too much choice.
With so many streaming sites on offer, it can feel like you're drowning in a sea of online content. There's simply no way to subscribe to everything without taking out a small loan, and who actually has the time and energy to check out what's being shown on every platform anyway? No, this is definitely not the way to do things. Instead, you should try and maximise your content options with your favourite streaming site.
With popular streaming platforms like Netflix, you can actually unlock extra content from around the world. For this task, all you need is a VPN.
What is a VPN?
VPNs are powerful cybersecurity tools that provide protection for your personal information by creating a private network that hides your real IP address. Your online activity remains untraceable and secure with a VPN because all of your online traffic passes through an encrypted tunnel. Nobody can see into the tunnel, and everything inside the tunnel is protected against online threats like hackers, viruses, and malware.
It's the act of hiding your real IP address that means you can access extra content from around the world with a VPN.
What are the benefits of using a VPN?
The protection for your sensitive information is obviously super important, but this isn't really the reason that VPNs have surged in popularity is recent years. A lot of new users are interested in VPNs ability to access content that is normally blocked in your location.
By hiding your real IP address and connecting you to a server in another country, you can watch all your favourite content from that location. For example, you can watch all the films and shows on UK Netflix that are not usually accessible outside of the UK. Whether you live in another country or you're travelling outside of the UK temporarily, you can use a VPN to watch all your favourites from this massive library of content.
How do you unblock UK Netflix with a VPN?
This might be surprising, but the process of accessing UK Netflix with a VPN is actually really simple:
Sign up to a streaming-friendly VPN
Download the app to your device of choice
Open up the VPN app and connect to a server in the UK
Log in to your Netflix account to watch movies and shows from the UK content library
We should make it very clear that you still need to be subscribed to Netflix for this trick to work. A VPN is not going to grant access to the streaming site for free. A VPN provides access to more libraries from around the world, once you're subscribed. Understood?
What is the best free VPN?
We should start with the good news: There are plenty of free versions and free trials of VPNs. Unfortunately, there are always catches with these free VPNs.
The most common restriction you get with free VPNs is limited data usage. This is going to be fine if you're just an occasional user, but if you're going to be streaming or downloading anything, this simply isn't going to work. Free trials tend to come with everything you get in a paid plan, but obviously they don't tend to last very long. Trials are great for testing out a service before committing, but this isn't a long-term solution.
The reality is that to gain access to advanced security features and the ability to unblock streaming sites, you are going to need to cough up some cash.
What is the best VPN for Netflix?
There are a lot of VPNs that can effectively unblock UK Netflix from global locations, but which is the best? It's a difficult question to answer, particularly as everyone will have different needs and preferences. To help you make an informed decision, we've handpicked some of your best options.
These are the best VPNs for UK Netflix in 2024.