The UK is a country or in fact a kingdom, with a great, long, complicated history. Most of the world admires it for that, and even envies it. However, the UK is not a friend to internet users. Especially to those who are interested in streaming.
In countries like the Netherlands, the biggest streaming problem that people have is buffering. Although, according to their speeds, even that’s probably a thing of the past at this point.
In the UK, however, online censorship rules completely. If you live in this country, you know very well how hard it is to access pretty much any but a few online streaming services. Even those that are allowed, BBC’s iPlayer, for example, are only allowed to those who have a BBC’s TV license.
The similar issue bothers those who live outside of the UK but still wish to access its programs and channels. They have to deal with the UK’s geo-restriction laws. What that means is that the UK’s content is only available to the UK citizens. So basically, if you’re out of the country, you won’t be able to access much. So, people have turned to the tools like VPNs for help. If you wish to learn which is the best VPN for UK streaming, all you need to do is keep reading.
How do geo-restrictions work in the UK?
This is the question that bothers many of the online users, and the answer is actually pretty simple. They use your IP address.
Your IP address is the key to geo-restrictions, and the ISPs have cleverly turned them against you. When you connect to the internet, you get an IP address from your ISP, via the router.
That IP address serves as your online signature. Think of it as your online ID that carries information like your real-life location, as well as which ISP provided it to you. Every device with an internet connection has one, and that includes your tablet, laptop, desktop, iPhone, Android, and even your smart watch.
So, when content gets marked as geo-restricted, that means that it only allows to those with local IP addresses to access it. Web sites and streaming services can scan your IP address every time when you access them, and from them, they extract your data. If your location indicates that you’re outside of the region that the service supports, you won’t get access to its content. It’s that simple.
Still, the fact that it’s simple doesn’t mean that it’s any less annoying. And then, there’s the problem with the online censorship.
If you’re outside of the UK, you won’t be able to access their content. And if you’re within the UK, you won’t be able to access any other streaming service except for those that they provide you with.
The UK has blocked a lot of websites lately. Many of them were torrenting websites, which got the ban without question. According to their censorship laws, as well as because of the copyright holders, the UK doesn’t tolerate even the slightest hint of piracy.
That’s why the internet users from the UK, as well as those from outside that wish to access its content, have turned to the best VPN for UK streaming.
What is VPN and what can it offer in the UK?
VPNs are private networks that are experts when it comes to anonymity and online safety. They offer many different features, but the main ones include strong encryptions, multiple security protocols, and their irreplaceable network of private servers.
It is thanks to these servers that the VPNs are capable of bypassing the geo-restrictions and censorship issues. You already know how the IP blocking works from before. So, if you’re using a foreign IP address for accessing the British programs, you won’t get far.
However, if you connect to the VPN server that’s located in the UK, you’ll be assigned a local IP address. That way, when the BBC iPlayer (for example) scans your IP, it will see you as a local, and you’ll get access without problems.
And if you live in the UK, by using the same method, you would choose a server located somewhere else. Most recommend the Netherlands. If you choose their servers, you’ll get access to all of the streaming services, torrenting websites, and anything else that this country can access.
Some countries have the same geo-restrictions as the UK, so you’ll have to access their own servers in order to get their own IP. That’s the only way to get to the services like the US Netflix, Hulu, Pandora, and alike.
This is a great feature when it comes to making you anonymous. Now, if you wish better security, you’ll need the VPN’s ability to encrypt your content and hide it with the protocols.
Security protocols are creating safe tunnels for your data to flow through. That way, not even your ISP can see what you’re doing online. And since no security method is 100% safe, the best solution would be to add another one. VPNs did just that, and thanks to their encryption, even if your safe tunnel starts leaking, you’ll still be safe because they won’t manage to translate your actions.
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| Multi-platform Compatible | ||
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| Website Rating | 9.9 | 8.8 |
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| Stealth VPN / Advanced Obfuscation techniques | ||
| Visit VPN Provider | Visit TorGuard | Visit PIA |
Which VPNs to use in the UK?
Now that you know what VPNs can offer, it’s time to decide which one would suit your purposes best. The choice isn’t easy to make, especially since many providers appeared since the VPNs became popular.
However, we wish to help as much as we can, and so we’ve created our own list of four best VPN for UK streaming. Those include IPVanish, PIA, TorGuard, and GhostVPN.
The choice about which one you’ll use is yours, of course. You don’t even have to go with any one of these. Still, we’re going to take a closer look at them just in case.
IPVanish
When it comes to streaming VPNs, IPVanish is the obvious first choice. It has a rare advantage, which is the ownership of its network. Due to that, its speeds are extremely hard to match, and that means that you’ll hardly find a better candidate for streaming.
Its features are many, and they include no logging policy, 7-day money back guarantee, low prices, and strong encryptions. Also, 40,000+ IP addresses that you get from 850+ servers located in 60+ countries and even P2P support.
It offers even more, but these are the most important ones, and they truly make it the best VPN for UK streaming.
TorGuard
Also one of the best VPN options currently on the market is TorGuard. This provider offers unlimited speeds and bandwidth, and also up to five simultaneous connections. It has multiple security protocols, a stealth proxy, great customer support, and 3000+ servers located in 55+ countries.
It also offers very affordable prices and four different packages for you to choose from. Among them are those specialized in protecting the email, and changing your IP, as well as the regular VPN package. They all have different prices since it doesn’t make sense for you to pay the full price if you don’t need all of the features.
PIA
PIA’s next on our list, and it stands for Private Internet Access. It offers multiple features, many of which we’ve already mentioned in previous two entries. Still, PIA has even more than that. It’s able to protect you from malware and ads, it keeps no logs, has an easy to use software, and offers instant setup.
PIA is also one of the cheapest VPN providers that you’ll ever find. And don’t be alarmed by its low prices, it’s just as good as the rest of them. It’s only not as fancy as others, meaning that it’s app is relatively barebone and undecorated. Still, looks don’t mean quality, and PIA is the best way to confirm that for a small fee.
GhostVPN
Last but not least, GhostVPN is the youngest in the group. This VPN only came to be last year, but in that short time, it became as good and strong as the rest of them. Among its multiple features is a pretty big and decent network that numbers over 1600 individual servers in 50+ countries.
This VPN also offers amazing speeds, encryptions, protocols, and pretty much everything else that we’ve already mentioned in the previous entries. The only reason for it to take the fourth place is the fact that it has yet to reach its full potential. When it does, you can be sure that GhostVPN will dominate the entire VPN market.
Best VPN for UK Streaming Conclusion
The best VPN for UK streaming isn’t easy to find. Still, we did our best to provide you with the top options to choose from. As always, the choice is yours.
Using the VPN, however, isn’t that optionable. At least not if you wish to have access to anything worth your while online. The sad truth is that the web is slowly slipping away from us. It’s getting trapped in the more complicated web of laws and legislations.
If you’re against that, simply pick one of the VPNs, and you’ll once again use the internet as you see fit. All of them are easy to use, whether you’re new, or already have experience. Just give them a chance, and you’ll find your way around them in no time at all.
