Question about VPNs...

[bif]

I'm going to be in England for a couple weeks. I'm taking my laptop to watch streaming movies while I'm there. Mainly Netflix. I've been told I need a VPN to watch streaming content. Is that true? And how does that work? I'm totally clueless about VPNs.

[Tetrachloride]

1. Color me suspicious on VPN "requirements "

the VPNs sure want the money.

bookmarking

[Lulu KC]

2. I use Tunnel Bear--but rethinking

I chose it after reading an article in the NYT about VPNs in 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/reviews/best-vpn-service

excerpt from 2019 https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/5-cheapish-things-to-beef-up-your-digital-security

A virtual private network (VPN) service

As Wirecutter has reported, a virtual private network (VPN) is not a tool for anonymity, but it can offer an assist when it comes to privacy. A VPN helps to keep most of your browsing private from your Internet service provider, reduces some online tracking, and secures your connections when you use public Wi-Fi.

After comprehensive testing, Wirecutter recommends the TunnelBear VPN service because its security is trustworthy and transparent, it’s affordable, and it has an easy-to-understand privacy policy.

__________
However, I don't use Netflix lately. With Amazon Prime, it won't show a movie if I have the VPN turned on. You might want to look at the Netflix page to see what it says there about VPNs.

And then in 2021, NYT came back with this. I'm reconsidering even having Tunnel Bear. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/technology/personaltech/are-vpns-worth-it.html

Have a great trip.

[chia]

4. Thanks for that last link, good information.

[bif]

3. From the Netflix help center

It looks like I should be fine without a VPN.

[Phoenix61]

5. You can use Netflix but content is based on location.

When I was in Australia I could get shows I can’t get in the US. The flip side was there were shows I could get in the US that weren’t available there. It changed country by country. A VPN would allow you to look like you were in the US even though you were in England. Personally, enjoy the access to other stuff and catch up on what you miss when you get back.

[LearnedHand]

10. Content may differ though eom

[Nictuku]

6. The only thing I can think of

The only thing I can think of is that when you are in Europe, there may be some programming available on US that is not available over there. So one thing you can do with (some) VPNs is choose which country that the VPN server is connected to, (i.e., when in Europe, you can still get a US IP address using VPNs). And this works the other way around too, programs not available in US, but available in Europe can be accessed if you select the appropriate country for your VPN connection.

Another reason to use a VPN is if you are using Public WiFi, which is kind of dangerous in today's world of scammers and hackers.

And the other reason people use VPNs is to 'hide' their actual IP address when accessing content that might not be legally obtained.

That is about all I know about VPNs (other than the fact that when connected, all your data is encrypted (this means that even if a hacker can get your wifi stream of data, they can not 'decrypt' it or read/use it.

[canetoad]

7. I doubt that you NEED a VPN

But if you do, have a look at Mullvad. https://mullvad.net/

Once you join up you can pay by the month - 5 Euros. You receive a customer number and just pay for a month whenever you need it. No need to use a dodgy freebie or sign up for a year.

[LearnedHand]

8. I used NordVPN while on foreign travel

It’s one of the top-rated ones and it worked very well. Not only could I stream from my US-based services I could make WiFi phone calls to the states as if I were home. It’s a very good investment, as you can continue to use it to obscure your IP address when you’re home.

Edit: Oops. Meant to reply to the OP.

[LearnedHand]

9. She post #8 for my experience. Also ...

You don’t need the VPN necessarily. It’s just that your content may be different. In addition, if you subscribed to your streaming service through an Amazon or Apple channel, it might not be avail le to stream in a foreign country. Always best to subscribe to each individual service.

[bif]

11. Works just fine.

I can get Netflix no problem. I watched a couple movies that are available in Britain but not in the U.S. I can't access Freevee, Tubi or HBO. But most everything else works just fine.