How to Unblock YouTube Videos with a VPN

YouTube Blocked Due to Censorship

Since 2019 there have been 226 major internet shutdowns in 40 countries.

On any given day, countries like India, Indonesia, Pakistan, Sudan, Turkey, and Uganda impose new internet blocks. YouTube is very often targeted.

YouTube is actually fully banned in a number of countries. This includes China, Iran, Syria, and Turkmenistan.

In the map below you can see the countries that have either blocked YouTube in the past, or are currently blocking it.

Seeing names like Germany and Denmark shows that internet freedom is never guaranteed.

Whether you’re in a country with a permanent ban or a temporary block, you can beat this by using a good VPN.

Currently, as long as it has more than one server any VPN can get around YouTube blocks, which aren’t as aggressive as those enforced by streaming services like BBC iPlayer or DAZN.

VPNs Can’t Help with Sitewide Removals

Sometimes YouTube censors content by removing videos entirely from the platform.

This has been a feature of the coronavirus pandemic, as YouTube attempts to squash the spread of misinformation.

Also, following a policy update in 2019, YouTube terminated 25,000 accounts on hate speech grounds and, more famously, President Donald Trump for “inciting violence.”

However, no VPN can get around these blanket bans. These videos are completely taken offline.

Videos Blocked Due to Copyright Restrictions

Some geoblocks are a matter of copyright and licensing agreements. We’ve all seen the annoying error code that tells us: “The uploader has not made this video unavailable in your country.”

Unlike with China, to get around this it probably isn’t necessary to purchase a VPN. You can get a free VPN and it should work just fine.

Or, you can use a proxy, which you can read more about here.

All you need to do is choose a safe free service, install it, and select the country in which the video is available.

If you can’t access a specific TV show clip, a music video or a movie, launch the VPN and select an appropriate server location. Once connected, YouTube will think you’re in the right country, and play the video.

However, there are risks with some of the most popular free VPNs, like Hola VPN. Many free VPNs take your data and sell it, and barely offer any privacy protection at all. Some have even been known to install malware and viruses.

Free VPNs are often limiting; they impose data caps and server restrictions, or refuse access to advanced features.

For the purpose of watching YouTube, though, they can be a great tool. Especially if you’re only interested in watching a video blocked on copyright grounds every now and again.

A VPN is the most effective solution to get around school bans on all devices, including school computers, laptops, or Chromebooks.

But we caution against potentially unsafe free VPNs. The last thing you want is to inject malware onto your school device.

Not many websites tell you this, but it’s important to know that even with the best VPN your school might know you’re using a VPN. This is because the WiFi admin can see encrypted packages being sent to the school server from a specific device, even if they don’t know the contents of the package.

Although VPNs are the simplest and quickest way to unblock YouTube, if you want to avoid detection entirely there are other methods to unblocking YouTube, including:

1. Unblock YouTube by Using the Website IP Address

Many school networks only block certain domain name URLs for websites and not the underlying IP addresses. This means if you know a website’s IP address you can enter it manually into your browser and view the blocked website.

It’s worth knowing that the domain name of a website (Top10VPN.com, for example), is not the same as the IP address that directs your traffic. Although the URL is blocked, the website IP address is not.

2. Use Google Translate to Beat School Blocks

It’s very rare that a school blocks Google Translate because of its usefulness in education settings. You can actually use this to your advantage and get around school YouTube blocks.Here’s how you do it:

1. First translate into a foreign language a search term you would otherwise type into YouTube, such as “study music.” We’re using German as an example.

   Translate your YouTube search term using Google Translate.

2. Now, copy the phrase and paste it into Google. Scroll the results and you can see the option to translate into English video links to YouTube.

   Search your translated phrase in Google and find the YouTube results.

3. Select ‘Translate this page’ and you’ll be directed to what is technically a Google Translate site and not YouTube and therefore get around the school block while still accessing the video.

   YouTube videos are available through Google Translate.

This neat workaround should work with any search term you want to search for.

3. Directly Download YouTube Videos onto Your Device

It’s possible to download YouTube videos directly onto your device without even beating your school firewall.

All you have to do is copy the YouTube video URL from search results and paste it into a YouTube video downloader website. There are many of these websites available online.

This allows you to download a file directly onto your device that you can watch offline.

The downside of this workaround is that you have to know the specific video you want to watch. It’s also more time consuming.

Yes, you can use a proxy to unblock YouTube.

YouTube restrictions are much easier to bypass than premium streaming services like Netflix or BBC iPlayer. A simple proxy often does the job.

A proxy gets around firewalls by visiting the website on your behalf and relaying the content back to you. You never actually visit the website and so the block never takes effect.

Proxies can be a quick and useful tool if your YouTube needs are less demanding and privacy is less of a concern to you. That’s because they don’t provide the same level of privacy and reliability as a VPN. Proxies don’t encrypt data like a VPN does.

This allows ISPs, school network administrators, and governments to see what videos you watch even with a proxy. These proxies might also be logging and selling your data, too. For this reason, they’re not as safe or private.

A VPN is by far the safest, most effective, and most reliable way to unblock YouTube. But if you’re looking to unblock a single video or two at home, a proxy can be a quick and useful alternative. There are many free proxy servers and browser extensions available online, such as KProxy, Ultrasurf, ProxTube, and Whoer.

Many VPN companies also offer a proxy browser extension as part of their premium package. But some also offer good quality browser extensions that are completely free.

These are all free and available to add to Chrome or Firefox browsers instantly with no registration required. They’re a quick and easy way to unblock YouTue and they’re from trustworthy VPN companies, so there’s no risk involved.

Why are YouTube videos blocked and unavailable?

How Can I Watch YouTube TV?

YouTube TV is an US exclusive streaming service that allows you to stream sports, TV shows, and movies from over 85 networks.

If you already have a YouTubeTV account a VPN will enable you to continue streaming content while you’re abroad.

However, if you’re not based in the US and want the benefits of YouTube TV, you’ll also need a payment method registered in the US and a zip code before you can sign up.

Can a VPN Unblock YouTube Premium (YouTube Red)?

YouTube has a premium service called YouTube Premium (formerly known as YouTube Red). This service costs $11.99 and provides ad-free, offline access to YouTube and YouTube Music.

It is available in most countries but not all of them. You can find the full list of available countries here.

If you live outside these countries and still want the benefits of YouTube Premium, you can use a VPN to register.

However, as with YouTube TV, this isn’t as simple as connecting to a server and unblocking a video. You’ll need to have a payment method linked to one of these countries available, either a credit card or PayPal account.

Can YouTube Detect VPNs?

Even if YouTube can detect VPNs, it doesn’t seem to care much as most VPNs work almost all the time to unblock the video platform.

It’s another story when it comes to the premium YouTube TV, though. It uses an algorithm to track IP addresses and detect VPNs. This is why you might get an error message that reads: “YouTube TV VPN Proxy Server Detected.”

So while YouTube can detect VPNs when it comes to its premium services it doesn’t care as much when it comes to unblocking georestricted content that is otherwise free.

Is Unblocking YouTube Legal?

Unblocking YouTube is entirely legal in the vast majority of countries across the world.

There are, however, a few countries that have made using VPNs illegal, whether it’s for YouTube or anything else.

Outside of these countries it’s legal to unblock YouTube. Even in China where YouTube is banned and VPNs are restricted, it’s not illegal to unblock it.

As well as that, there is nothing specific in the YouTube terms of service that says you cannot use a VPN or proxy.

One section forbids you to “circumvent, disable, fraudulently engage, or otherwise interfere with the service,” but it’s highly unlikely this can be used to justify kicking you off the service. We’ve never known a case of someone being penalized for using a YouTube VPN.

Unblocking YouTube at school or work is not illegal, either. But there’s no guarantee that you won’t get told off for doing it if discovered. Network administrators can detect the use of VPNs even if they don’t know what websites you’re visiting.

Additional research by David Hughes