If you’re a frequent YouTuber, you may have stumbled upon a video you want to watch but isn’t available in your country. It’s not fatal. Here’s how.
If you’re a frequent YouTuber, you may have stumbled upon a video you want to watch but isn’t available in your country. There may be several reasons for this. First, you should know that not all YouTube videos are user-generated. The platform also hosts licensed content that may be legally available in some countries. This content may include movies, series, music, or even trailers.
YouTube may also geo-block certain content in accordance with the laws of a particular country. For example, residents of China, North Korea, or Sudan cannot access the platform due to restrictions imposed by those governments.
Depending on the type of video and circumstances, you may not be able to watch the video, or you may be required to pay to access the video that is free in other countries. Either way, the good news is that YouTube’s geo-filtering can be bypassed so you can watch videos that aren’t normally available in your country.
Use a VPN
VPNs are useful for many reasons, including bypassing content restrictions. They allow, for example, to use the Netflix catalog of another country to access a series or movie that is usually not available. The same goes for YouTube videos.
VPNs hide your IP address and redirect your internet traffic through a private server with a different IP address, allowing you to surf the web as if you were in another country. VPN services often offer different locations for their servers, offering the option to select your country, and your real IP address is replaced with that country’s IP address. For example, if you are in China and connect to a server in the UK, the VPN service replaces your IP address with a UK IP address, tricking the YouTube servers into thinking you are in the UK.
These services are easy to set up and use on your smartphone or computer. Just download and install the app, register, select a server and you’re done.
Use proxy
A proxy server is the best alternative if you don’t want to use a VPN. It works like a VPN – hiding your IP address by routing your traffic through a proxy rather than connecting directly to the site you’re visiting. In other words, the proxy server interacts with the Internet on behalf of the user.
This provides some level of security, but not as high as a VPN. Proxy servers do not include their own encryption protocols to ensure that your data and activities are protected from possible interception.
Another significant difference between a VPN and a proxy is that the proxy works fine for every application. For example, on a mobile device, you can use a proxy server to view blocked videos in the YouTube app, but these settings will not apply to your browser unless you configure them accordingly. And not all applications allow you to use a proxy. On the other hand, a VPN directs traffic at the system level.
A VPN is safer for bypassing YouTube content restrictions, but a proxy server achieves the same result if the rules are not too strict.
Download video
The best VPNs and proxy services are paid. If you don’t want to shell out a dime, one option is to download the video you want to watch. This is possible on all platforms and the process is always very similar.
However, before you start, please be aware that the operation is against the terms of use of the platform, especially if you are using a third-party converter. Legally, this is very vague. Google probably won’t sue you as an individual, but it’s still copyright infringement. YouTube does not approve of downloading content from its platform to your device as it affects its revenue.
YouTube earns revenue from the ads displayed when users view these embeds in monetized videos, and content creators get a cut of it. Downloading a video instead of streaming it deprives the platform and creators of that income.