How to Bypass Internet Censorship, Filtering, and Restrictions

Around the world, governments work with ISPs and other communications companies to block websites that are considered illegal or harmful.

Unfortunately, there’s little agreement on what is truly harmful. In some countries, governments use internet censorship and restrictions to stifle debate, silence opposition, prevent protest, or to enforce controversial social norms.

China is famous for being the most censored country in the world. It blocks independent news outlets, social media sites, and much more. The so-called Great Firewall of China achieves this using a combination of techniques including deep packet inspection, DNS spoofing, IP blocking, keyword filtering, and throttling to disrupt undesirable connections.

But China is far from alone in restricting access to online content. According to Freedom House, 76% of the online population live in countries where citizens have been arrested for publishing content about social, political, or religious issues.

The table below compares the most common methods for bypassing internet restrictions. It explains how each method works, the types of internet censorship each method works to circumvent, and their limitations:

Method	How it Works	Types of Censorship Circumvented	Limitations
VPN Service	Reroutes internet traffic through a remote server, encrypting and obfuscating the data along the way	Content blocks, Geolocation restrictions, Deep packet inspection	Effectiveness and trustworthiness depends on the VPN provider May slow internet speeds to some extent
Proxy Server	Acts as an intermediary for requests from clients, allowing users to bypass internet filters	Content blocks, Geolocation restrictions	Typically not encrypted Some proxies log user data
Tor Browser	Routes internet traffic through a global network of encrypted nodes to conceal users’ locations and activity	Deep censorship, Content blocks, Deep packet inspection	Slower browsing speeds Some websites block Tor exit nodes Potential malicious exit nodes
Custom DNS Server	Bypasses ISP’s default DNS to circumvent domain-based blocking	Domain-based blocks	The DNS request might not be encrypted ISPs can still see IP addresses visited
Encrypted DNS (DoH/DoT)	Encrypts DNS queries, preventing ISPs from seeing or manipulating domain requests	Domain-based blocks, DNS tampering	Only encrypts the DNS query, not the entire connection Some ISPs might block encrypted DNS traffic
SSH Tunneling	Creates an encrypted tunnel between the user’s device and a remote server using SSH, allowing safe data transfer	Content blocks, Surveillance	Requires access or ownership of a remote server Can be detected and blocked if SSH traffic is monitored
Mirror Sites & IP Addresses	Alternate websites or IP addresses replicating the content of the original site	Domain and IP address blocks	Usually temporary (mirror sites can be blocked too) Trustworthiness and safety of mirror sites can vary

The most suitable method for you will depend on the censorship technique in use, and the resources you have available.

Before we explain each method in details, there are a few additional aspects to consider in order to make an informed decision:

Here’s a more detailed look at each method:

Use a VPN (Virtual Private Network)

Pros	Cons
Bypasses against a range of common censorship techniques, including geo-restrictions	May be difficult to download VPN software from within a censored country
Encrypts all web traffic leaving your device	The most effective VPNs cost money
Hides your public IP address	May slow down your internet connection somewhat
Easy to download and use on most devices	Free VPNs may have weaker security, fewer server options, or may log your activity
Can protect multiple devices simultaneously with one account	Some websites block or restrict access from known VPN IP ranges
Often provides additional security features, such as leak protection or a kill switch

A VPN reroutes your data through a remote server via a secure, encrypted tunnel. The encrypted tunnel stops your ISP from seeing your online activities, while the remote server temporarily replaces your IP address with another IP address from a different region.

A VPN is the most effective way to bypass most forms of internet restriction. VPN encryption prevents censors from blocking your connection based on the website you’re visiting.

By connecting to a VPN server in a different country, VPNs also let you access content that’s typically blocked in your location. Many VPN services also have their own DNS servers, so you’re also protected from DNS tampering.

We’ve tested and reviewed 65 VPNs and found that Astrill is the most reliable VPN for avoiding censorship.

In the last three months, Astrill has worked to unblock censored websites in China 100% of the time. Astrill does not have a kill switch on its mobile apps though, so we recommend ExpressVPN instead if you’re primarily using an Android or iOS device.

Bypassing sophisticated internet censorship requires significant resources, so the most effective VPNs will typically require a monthly fee. However, there are a few trustworthy free VPNs, too.

Use a Proxy Server

Pros	Cons
Often free to use	Many proxy servers do not encrypt your data by default
Masks your IP address	Advanced web filters can detect and block proxy servers
Can bypass geo-restrictions and access blocked content	May require manual configuration
Some proxy servers offer encrypted connections for added security	Free proxies can be unreliable or slow
	Many proxies lack transparent logging policies

Proxy servers are similar to VPNs in some respects: they route your internet traffic through a remote server, spoofing your physical location and masking your IP address from other websites and services you connect to on the internet.

Unlike VPNs, proxy servers are often free to use — but they do not encrypt your data by default.

There are several different types of proxy server. Some types only reroute the data from a particular application (such as your browser), while others work for your whole device.

HTTPS and SOCKS5 proxies are the most secure options for bypassing censorship. HTTPS proxies use HTTPS encryption by default. SOCKS5 has no encryption built-in, but it can support encryption if configured correctly.

Other types — like common web proxies — are much less secure, and are typically only used to unblock banned websites in schools and workplaces.

SOCKS5 proxies can use the TCP or UDP connection protocols, which is similar to what most VPN protocols use. Much like VPN obfuscation, this improves your chances of bypassing local censorship without being blocked by your ISP.

In fact, VPNs that work in China and other highly-censored countries often use a protocol called ShadowSOCKS, which mimics the kind of TCP connection used by SOCKS5 proxies.

A small number of VPNs now provide SOCKS5 proxy servers as part of their service. This allows you to choose between a VPN server or a SOCKS5 proxy server. Be wary, though — the SOCKS5 option will not always encrypt your data.

Unless you use a VPN with SOCKS5 support, the most effective proxies are typically quite difficult to configure.

Even when configured currently, a proxy doesn’t offer you the same security or privacy as a VPN. We recommend only using a proxy if your communications do not require additional privacy and security, or if the website blocks you’re bypassing are relatively rudimentary.

Use the Tor Browser

Pros	Cons
Open-source, free, and community-driven	Tor’s network can be extremely slow
Reroutes traffic through multiple encrypted nodes	Guard node sees your IP address
Can access the deep web and bypass internet censorship	Exit node sees your unencrypted traffic
Does not keep user activity logs	Exit nodes can be compromised or malicious
	No control over your final IP address location
	Some websites block or restrict access from Tor nodes
	Complex to set up and use for non-technical users
	May draw attention from your ISP

The Tor Browser encrypts your traffic and routes it through three randomly-assigned servers, called nodes. It’s free to use and highly anonymous: no server can see both your IP address (who you are) and your web traffic (what you’re doing).

Tor is slow, so it’s not ideal for transferring large files, but it changes your IP address and bypasses URL filters effectively.

Though it can be a good choice for activists or whistleblowers sharing sensitive information, Tor isn’t always safe. Malicious exit nodes could insert malware in your traffic, and there is proof that some users can be de-anonymized.

Your ISP can see you’re using Tor and might flag you for surveillance. Put simply, Tor needs to be set up carefully if you want to be completely anonymous online.

The Tor browser also gives you access to the dark web, which is often used for illegal content but can be legitimately used to share information that is unreasonably restricted or subject to censorship.

Tor Snowflake can also be a useful tool in bypassing government censorship. You can install the extension on Firefox, Chrome and Edge. It works much like a proxy app and obfuscates your traffic allowing you to access blocked websites.

If Tor traffic is blocked, you can hide it by connecting to a VPN before running Tor. However, your VPN provider will see your true IP address and exit nodes can still see your traffic.

Use a Custom DNS Server

Pros	Cons
Can bypass DNS-based censorship by resolving domain names independently	Unlikely to work against IP blocking, deep packet inspection, or other techniques employed by high-censorship countries
Allows for customization and control over domain name resolution	Does not encrypt your traffic
Free and easy to set up	A misconfigured DNS server can lead to security vulnerabilities
	Does not mask your IP address

When you visit a website, DNS servers convert its web address (e.g. www.example.com) into the IP address of the server that hosts the website. The IP address is used to route your communications through the internet.

DNS servers can be made to enforce censorship by blocking access to sites or diverting you to compromised alternatives. If you use your ISP’s DNS server, your ISP can monitor which websites you visit.

To avoid DNS filtering, DNS spoofing, and ISP surveillance, you can try using a custom DNS server. We’ve compiled a list of safe, free DNS servers alongside our DNS checker tool, and you can find setup instructions in our guide comparing the differences between DNS and VPNs.

It’s worth noting that this method is unlikely to work against sophisticated censorship techniques such as IP blocking or deep packet inspection. These techniques do not use DNS to impose their restrictions.

Use Encrypted DNS

Pros	Cons
Prevents eavesdropping on DNS requests	Does not encrypt your web traffic — just the DNS queries
Can bypass DNS-based censorship and surveillance	Will not bypass censorship if IP blocking or deep packet inspection is used
Improved privacy and security compared to traditional DNS	May be blocked or restricted in some regions or networks

DNS traffic isn’t usually encrypted, so it’s vulnerable to eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks. That means state agencies could track the websites you’re visiting and redirect your traffic to censored sites.

To avoid this, you can use DNS over HTTPS, which uses HTTPS encryption to protect your communications with the DNS server.

Your ISP would still see your DNS requests if it operates the DNS server, so encrypted DNS is best used together with custom DNS in strictly censored countries.

Encrypted DNS is now supported in Windows 11, iOS, Android, and macOS. The Firefox browser uses DNS over HTTPS in the US, and the Tor Browser used DNS over HTTPs by default.

DNS over TLS is a similar solution based on a different encryption technology.

However, your internet traffic can still be disrupted after the DNS lookup stage. For this reason, encrypted DNS alone is unlikely to bypass most forms of government censorship alone.

Use SSH Tunneling

Pros	Cons
Encrypts traffic between your device and the SSH server	Requires an understanding of networking
Can bypass some network restrictions and censorship	Costs money to rent an SSH server
Masks your IP address	SSH tunneling can be detected and blocked by some firewalls and deep packet inspection
	Not as user-friendly as VPN software
	Only tunnels requests from a browser that has been configured with SOCKS proxy access

Secure Shell (SSH) Tunneling provides a secure method to bypass network restrictions and content filters by routing your traffic through an encrypted tunnel to an SSH server.

The server can be in another country, which may help in unblocking geo-restricted resources. Much like a VPN, the encrypted tunnel stops your ISP and others from snooping on your web traffic.

It’s also possible to use SSH tunneling to hide your OpenVPN traffic, though this is quite complicated and not recommended for technically inexperienced users.

For most people, a VPN is a more user-friendly option than SSH. That said, SSH is a good alternative if you already have a remote server you can use, or if you can’t access a VPN service. You can find SSH servers available to rent online.

To create an SSH tunnel, use PuTTY on Windows or the SSH command on Mac and Linux.

Use Mirror Sites and IP Addresses

Pros	Cons
Provides access to content that might be blocked or restricted	Unlikely to bypass sophisticated censorship
No technical setup required	May host outdated or incorrect information
Can bypass basic censorship mechanisms by providing the same content on different URLs	Malicious actors can host mirror sites to distribute malware or gather user data
	Often blocked quickly if identified by censors
	No encryption, so your browsing activity could be monitored
	Your IP address and browsing activity are still visible to network administrators

Mirror sites are copies of blocked content that are hosted on different URLs. They can provide a quick and easy way to access blocked or restricted content without any technical setup.

However, they come with significant drawbacks. Firstly, they’re unlikely to work against sophisticated state censorship. If they do, it’s likely they’ll be blocked or removed quickly once identified by censors.

Mirror sites also pose some security risks, depending on the sensitivity of the content they’re hosting. Most importantly, they lack any kind of encryption, and they do nothing to protect your digital privacy.

If there’s a particular site you want to access that has been blocked, there are several ways you can try to access its content:

• Mirror sites store copies of web pages and other information on different, unblocked domains. For example, Samizdat Online syndicates content blocked by the Russian government. It’s hosted on domains that are randomly named and automatically registered, making it hard for censors to keep up.
• Archives and caches store old copies of web pages. The Wayback Machine has date-stamped copies of most web pages, and you can try Google’s cache by searching for “cache:URL”, where “URL” is the web page you want to see.
• RSS aggregators such as Feedly might have access to the web page and be able to show it to you using the RSS syndication standard.

Censorship Technique	Best Ways to Circumvent It
IP Blocking	VPN, web proxy, Tor
DNS Tampering	VPN, custom DNS + encrypted DNS
Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)	VPN, Tor
URL Filtering	VPN, Tor
Search Engine Censorship	VPN, web proxy, Tor
Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks	VPN, Tor
Geo-Restrictions	VPN, web proxy, Tor

Here’s how the most common censorship methods are bypassed with the appropriate tool:

• IP blocking: A VPN, web proxy, or Tor stops censors seeing the IP addresses you’re accessing, so they can’t block them.
• DNS tampering: Changing to a custom DNS server prevents DNS tampering techniques including DNS mangling and cache poisoning. VPN providers have their own custom DNS servers, but you can also try using public custom DNS servers. If you do, use encryption so that censors can’t see the websites you visit.
• Deep Packet Inspection (DPI): DPI looks at the content of your internet traffic so it can be blocked based on keywords. Using a VPN or Tor encrypts your traffic so that censors will only see strings of unintelligible characters. DPI can also detect VPNs, so make sure you use obfuscation to disguise your traffic.
• URL Filtering: URL filtering checks website addresses for banned keywords. Both a VPN and Tor encrypt your traffic so censors can’t see the addresses of websites you visit.
• Search Engine Censorship: You can’t make results reappear in your national search engine if they’ve been censored, but you can use a VPN or Tor to access Google in the US or another country.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS): DDoS attacks overwhelm a web resource with traffic, forcing it offline. By hiding your IP address with a VPN or Tor, you can avoid becoming a target. If a website you want to see is forced offline, using a VPN or Tor may enable you to access it in another country.
• Geo-Restrictions: By assigning you an IP address from another country, VPN software, Tor, and some proxy servers can help you access content that is blocked in your location. Of these three options, VPN services give you the greatest control over your IP address location.

As you can see, using a trustworthy VPN provider is the easiest and most effective way to bypass the vast majority of internet restrictions and censorship techniques. VPN software is much faster and less complicated than the Tor Browser, and it’s much easier to use safely.

A VPN will hide your browsing activity and IP address from your ISP and the websites you visit, respectively. The VPN provider can technically see your real IP address and your web traffic, but a reputable and well-reviewed service will not monitor or log either.

Governments around the world have shut down the internet to stop protesters organizing, to suppress the flow of information during contested elections, and even after natural disasters.

Internet shutdowns can target a specific geographic region, particular applications (such as social media), or the entire country.

Since 2019, there have been more than 500 government-mandated shutdowns globally. These include:

• An internet outage for the entire state of Punjab in India during a search for a separatist leader. For three days, there were no mobile internet or SMS communications for the state’s 27.7 million citizens. India is the global leader in internet shutdowns, measured by the number of occasions and users affected.
• A four-day nationwide block on mobile internet in Pakistan following protests when former Prime Minister Imran Khan was arrested. Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube were also blocked.
• Outages lasting months in Sudan in response to pro-democracy demonstrations.
• An internet blackout in war-struck Tigray, Ethiopia. The blackout lasted several years.

Social media shutdowns can be bypassed in much the same way as ordinary censorship. However, a complete internet blackout is much harder to circumvent.

Governments shut down the internet by ordering telecommunications companies to power off equipment, or by doing it themselves when they have control of critical infrastructure.

They can also push certain users offline by manipulating the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) which routes internet traffic; or they can block websites using IP addresses or DNS filtering. Sometimes, DPI is used to block specific keywords; or the protocols used by instant messaging services are blocked to stop them working.

Here are some techniques you can use to keep communicating during an internet shutdown. It’s worth planning ahead: it may be difficult to obtain the software required or to set up these processes without access to the internet.

Use Mesh Networks

A mesh network works by using device-to-device communications when people are close together, for example at a protest. The devices can pass messages between them until they reach their destination.

Bridgefy, for example, uses Bluetooth communications which are effective over distances of about 100 meters, so you can communicate without a mobile network or WiFi.

If the person you’re communicating with is further away, Bridgefy passes your encrypted message through other people’s phones until it reaches its destination. Bridgefy includes a broadcast option to share messages with other users around you.

NewNode (previously known as Fireside Messenger) is a similar app for encrypted messaging. As long as one of the devices in the network is connected to the internet, all devices have internet connectivity.

Use Offline Messaging

Both Bridgefy and NewNode support device-to-device messaging without an internet connection. Briar also enables offline messaging, where messages are synchronized using WiFi or Bluetooth, or over Tor when the internet is available.

Messages can also be synchronized by exchanging memory cards. Briar Mailbox works a bit like email — downloading messages when there is a connection.

Hoard Data Where Possible

If you’re concerned that your internet access might be blocked or censored in the future, take a copy of valuable data now.

Once you have it, you can share it with others by re-uploading it to the internet or copying it from device to device.

You may wish to collect and copy versions of security and privacy software, contact details, or books. Music, art, and literature can come under attack — especially in times of conflict — and can also be preserved digitally.

Set Up a Sneakernet

A sneakernet is where people share data by transporting it on physical storage media, such as USB keys.

In Cuba, for example, few people can afford internet access and the internet is censored by the government. Citizens can get the latest movies, TV shows, news, and software from overseas by picking up El Paquete Semanal.

It’s a weekly 1TB compilation of data that trades on the black market for as little as $1 if you only want some of the data.

Use International SIM Cards

If you’re close to the border, you might be able to use a SIM card from a neighboring country. In 2021, citizens in Sudan used international SIM cards to break through an internet shutdown and send information about government oppression outside the country.

Sideloading Apps

Governments sometimes force app stores to remove apps they wish to censor, including privacy and encryption software.

On Android, you can install apps without going through the Google Play store — a technique called “sideloading”. This may only be a partial solution: for VPNs, you’ll need to subscribe to the VPN provider’s service as well as installing the software’s APK file, which might be difficult if their website is blocked.

If social media services are blocked, finding a way to sideload the app won’t help if the government is also blocking communication with the app’s servers. In this case, a VPN can help you get around the block.

F-Droid is an alternative app store for Android devices which distributes open source software. F-Droid itself isn’t available through Google Play, so you’ll need to sideload it.

When you sideload an app, make sure it’s trustworthy. App stores aren’t perfectly secure, but they do perform some checks on the software they distribute to reduce your risk.

Satellite Content

To circumvent the internet shutdown in Iran, the Toosheh app enables citizens to receive data through their TV satellite dish. Each day, there is an 8GB download available which includes VPN software and news from overseas.

This type of data distribution is only one-way, so it doesn’t enable citizens to get their information out of the country. However, the VPN software helps citizens to share information when the internet is working.

This technique is relatively safe. It’s hard for the authorities to track whether someone has accessed the data by satellite, and once the app has been installed, it’s totally independent from the internet.

Can You Bypass Internet Restrictions for Free?

To bypass internet restrictions for free, try using a safe free VPN service such as Windscribe Free or other free software like the Tor browser.

Web proxies such as Hide.me are free to use and can help access some blocked websites, and custom DNS servers used with encryption can bypass censorship implemented with DNS tampering.

Is It Illegal To Use a VPN to Bypass Internet Restrictions?

Governments that censor the internet often ban or restrict independent VPNs to try to stop people circumventing censorship.

VPNs are illegal in Belarus, Iraq, North Korea and Turkmenistan. They’re legal everywhere else, but there may be restrictions. Independent VPNs are banned in China, Iran, Oman, Russia, Turkey and the UAE, for example.

If you use a government-approved VPN in those countries, it won’t help you to circumvent the government’s censorship.

What’s the Best Protocol to Bypass Censorship?

The best VPN protocol to bypass censorship is Astrill’s proprietary StealthVPN protocol. In the past 3 months, it has been 100% successful at bypassing the Great Firewall of China. If you don’t have Astrill, try using OpenVPN TCP and Port 443.