You’ve probably heard how useful a VPN for Netflix can be for unblocking its full international library. However, not all VPNs are created equal. In fact, some of them may do more harm than good – probably not something you mull over when you’re just trying to relax with a couple of episodes of The Office.
We’ll be going over some of these red flags of a VPN down below. In the meantime, get a VPN for Netflix that actually works and won’t turn your data into the provider’s piggybank.
Yes, Free VPNs Can Sell or Leak Your Data
Have you ever wondered how free VPNs can operate, or even turn a profit? The (not so) secret to that is they simply get their funding from advertisers and other shady third parties that rely on user data. All they need to do is log everything you do online and sell off that info to the highest bidders.
Keep in mind that a no-logs policy doesn’t guarantee your safety. A data breach of seven free VPNs resulted in 20 million people having their data leaked online. This included more than just browsing histories, but passwords, emails, real life addresses, and even payment data. And yes, the privacy policy of each provider claimed they kept no user logs.
They Can Also Infect Your Device with Malware
Like to watch Netflix on your smartphone while on the go, or in bed? Well, don’t get too comfy because nearly 40% of all free Android VPNs contain some form of malicious code designed to steal your data. Things aren’t much better for iPhone users, where even most of the top 20 free iOS VPNs violate Apple’s data collection guidelines.
You could also go advanced and have your device become part of a botnet. What’s that, you ask? Without getting too technical, a botnet is when a central computer silently controls a bunch of other devices for malicious purposes. Usually, it’s due to a virus that’s been installed on the system without your knowledge. Except in this case, millions of people knowingly installed the Hola free VPN, whose behavior was more or less like that of a botnet.
Free VPNs Just Aren’t Great for Streaming
You’re probably aware that Netflix blocks VPN traffic, as they’re under contract to protect geo-restrictions on the platform. To be fair, Netflix themselves would love nothing more than to bring all of their shows to a global audience. But of course movie and TV studio bigwigs haven’t heard of the concept of “fun”, so we’re stuck using VPNs for the moment.
Free VPNs, unfortunately, are poorly equipped to deal with Netflix’s advanced VPN filters. Not only do they have fewer servers (making it easier for Netflix to blacklist their IPs), but free VPN clients usually don’t provide obfuscation. Basically, a VPN with obfuscated servers (like those linked in the beginning) will mask your VPN traffic as regular HTTPS traffic – the kind every website uses nowadays. This makes it harder for Netflix to detect the dastardly deed of *gasp* watching TV shows not available in your area.
On top of that, free VPNs throttle your bandwidth and provide poor performance for network-intensive activities such as streaming video. Their low server and high user counts also contributes to network congestion issues. Moreover, many of them have monthly data caps of up to 10 GB (in the most generous cases). Not quite enough, seeing as one hour of non-HD video on Netflix is around 1 GB.
All in all, even if you magically find a free provider that works on Netflix, it won’t exactly be the smoothest experience. Save yourself the headaches and try out one of the providers we’ve linked to in the beginning. They all have 30 day money-back guarantees so you can try them out at your own pace, risk-free.
