We've all felt the frustration at some point or another: you're on a good YouTube binge clicking from one video to the next, when you're hit with the dreaded little red grimacing box face.
“This video is not available in your country”, it says, as if digital information were somehow beholden to arbitrary lines drawn on a map.
You curse, you scream, you cry at the sheer frustration of not being able to access that video that looked super epic in the thumbnail. “What must I do to lay my eyes upon such wondrous content?” you yell into the Void. “How can I unblock YouTube?”
The Void whispers back: “Sign up to a VPN service, obviously.”
Why is YouTube Blocked?
First off, let's talk a little about what we mean by YouTube being blocked. There are two types of block: a block on the entire site, or on individual videos.
The former is quite common on shared networks like those at school or work, where network administrators have blocked YouTube for productivity reasons. There are also some countries around the world whose governments have deemed YouTube to be a threat of some kind (in fairness, there are a lot of grifters out there) and have blanket-banned the site, or greatly restricted access.
Individual videos can be blocked due to region locks imposed by the uploader, copyright claims, or governments requesting YouTube ban certain videos in their region (yes, YouTube do comply with these requests. The cowards).
How to Unblock YouTube with a VPN
So how can a VPN service help? I'm glad you asked!
A VPN service lets you connect to multiple server locations around the world, rerouting your traffic through whichever one you're connected to and making it appear to the rest of the internet that you are using a device in that location. In doing so, it both proxies your traffic, and encrypts your information, giving an extra layer of privacy and security.
If you want to unblock a YouTube video that is blocked in your region, all you have to do is connect to a server in a region that it is not blocked in and - just like that - you'll be able to watch whatever it was that was deemed inappropriate for you and your fellow countrymen.
If you live in a country that has banned YouTube entirely, no problem - again, all you have to do is connect to a server in a region that it is not blocked in, and you're good to go.
Has your school or work network administrator blocked YouTube? Still no problem! All you have to do is – you've guessed it – connect to a server in a different location, and YouTube will be yours to scour once again.
VPNs Do More Than Just Unblocking YouTube
It's also worth noting that using a VPN will do more than just unblock YouTube for you – other services that have regional locks, like Netflix, will be accessible to you, as will anything else on the Internet that is normally behind arbitrary regional locks.
If you’re using our browser extension on desktop, you’ll also get the added benefit of blocking all those ads that keep interrupting your YouTube browsing experience - something I think almost all of us have raged over at some point. No more 30 second unskippable adverts for 15 seconds of content!
More importantly, VPNs also increase your privacy and security by encrypting all of your browsing information. This can be particularly important when attempting to circumvent blocks implemented by your government, but it is worth noting that whilst VPNs give you an excellent chance of evading notice by authoritarian institutions they are not 100% guaranteed protection.
Unblock it All
If you're tired of being denied content, and want to fully unblock YouTube on your devices and networks, then grab yourself a VPN today and start your journey towards internet freedom.
Obviously, I'm here to tell you that Windscribe is the best one on the market, with incredibly affordable plans and excellent features - and we genuinely believe in our product.
What are you waiting for? Your unblocked YouTube binge awaits!
