What this means is that the films and shows that you have available in your country might be different than those available in another country. The European Netflix, for example, has its own library with shows that might never come to the American Netflix. Read also: Best western movies on Netflix: The top 10!
Does this mean we have limited access to the Netflix catalog?
This is a tough question to answer cause it depends on how you see the service provided by the streaming platform. You could argue that you don’t have a limited access since the platform is making available every show or movie that it has licensed for your region. The issue very often lies in licensing. A show that is licensed for streaming in North America might not be licensed for streaming in South America. Well, if you could be watching those shows using the same platform you are currently using (and that you are paying for), but you can’t, and wouldn’t that be a way of limiting your access to the Netflix catalog? Even though the issue here is a legal one instead of a logistical one, the end result is the same: you can’t watch the same things other countries are watching and vice-versa.
Is there any way to circumvent region-locking?
Yes, actually! There are a few ways of circumventing region lockout. One of these ways is to simply travel to this other country and watch the Netflix catalog from there. Done! Easy, right? Even though this is the “easiest” solution, it’s really not the most approachable. It’s hard to justify traveling to an entire different country just so you can watch a show, regardless of how much you are into it. A much more practical solution would be to use a VPN. A Virtual Private Network is a way to conceal your IP address by rerouting it to a remote server run by the service host. It is, for all intentions and purposes, a “checkpoint” for your internet! A VPN offers more than one benefit:
Security and privacy. Now, even though this is probably not the reason you clicked on this article, this is by far the most important benefit a VPN can bring to you. The way paid VPNs work is by encrypting your data to the point that if anyone were to put their hands on it, they wouldn’t be able to read it. Cybersecurity is a growing concern on the world today, and with good reason: more and more of us is being poured into the internet in the form of data, creating a digital footprint. Accessing region-locked content. The reason why you clicked this article on how to access the Netflix catalog of any country couldn’t be any lower in this list. In actuality, even though this is the second point here, this is the biggest reason why people look for VPNs. It’s hard to argue against this when it is likely the most practical use you can get out of a VPN. Since they work as proxy, you can essentially change where your proxy is located to make service providers think you are based somewhere else. Data traffic. Very few will actually engage with this side of VPNs, but it’s value as a feature is clear. Many data centers require their employees to set a proper VPN when accessing the company’s data banks due to their encryption methods. It’s a safe and economic way to keep leaks to a minimum.
You might be wondering if using a VPN is legal, and the answer is yes! Using a VPN is perfectly legal in most countries in the world, being illegal in countries like China, Russia, North Korea and other countries that heavily regulate network services. So yes, there is a few countries in the world where you wouldn’t be able to use a VPN to access the full Netflix catalog of other countries.
What VPN provider should I be using?
We recommend Surfshark due to sheer value. You will have access to fast speeds, all the security and privacy a VPN can provide and unlimited bandwidth (which can be a very attractive feature depending on where you live). That associated with good business practices like a free trial and a 30-day money-back guarantee policy just make it an easy, safe choice if you are curious to try it out. You might come across free VPN providers, but keep in mind that those services are rarely reliable. Laggy connections, sometimes infested with malware and other times even a front for data harvesting. In this sense, you can think of a paid VPN as an investment that will save you a lot of headache down the road.
In conclusion…
VPNs are the best way of having full access to the full Netflix catalog, hands down. It’s easy, legal and safe to use, guaranteed to make it so you have access to shows and films not available in your country. They even come with a myriad of benefits that you might not even aware of. This world is growing to be more and more connected by the day. As you put more of yourself in the internet, protecting your data becomes important to protect your privacy. There’s no need to worry about how much of you exists in the form data when that data is not accessible to anyone.
