Online streaming with Netflix is great, isn’t it? With just a few clicks, you’ve got a universe of television shows and movies available for your viewing pleasure – and you don’t have to get dressed, go out, or even get off of the couch.
Wait: one small correction. You almost have a universe of content available. Many users don’t realize that there’s oodles of content out there that Netflix blocks them from seeing because it’s only available in other countries.
“What?” outraged Netflix users shouted. “We’re paying customers and you make flippant decisions about what we can see based on where we’re streaming from?”
The answer is both yes and no. You do get content based on your geographic location, but it’s not Netflix that decides what you’re allowed to see. They have to abide by the laws that allow them to license content in each country. (This made their international expansion in 2016 quite complex, as you can probably imagine.) Fortunately services have been created that utilize a rotating proxy to appear as an IP of the country you want to access Netflix content from.
Because Netflix has to pay to license content for specific countries, they have to pick and choose where it makes sense to license specific shows and movies. A little-known French film might not get much traction in the U.S., for example, or certain Japanese anime shows may not score many viewers in Canada. Netflix has to choose what to license in different areas in order to appeal to demand.
That’s little consolation if you’re looking for a particular show or movie only to find that it’s not available via Netflix in your region. Internet users are ever-resourceful, however, and quickly figured out how to use virtual private networks (VPNs) to get around the geographical Netflix restrictions. Suddenly, the entire universe of content opened up…
…only to be shut down again as Netflix quickly worked to block VPN proxies. Users who had been happily streaming movies and TV shows from across the globe suddenly logged on to find an ominous “You seem to be using an unblocked or proxy” streaming error.
Thankfully, the Netflix-versus-VPN chess game isn’t over. Enterprising geeks have created a Netflix VPN proxy error fix. Certain VPN services still work with Netflix, and their designers are constantly making changes to anticipate the next move in the game.
It’s great to have a list of multiple VPNs to test out with Netflix because one that works today may not work tomorrow and vice versa. Despite the minor inconvenience, users are thankful that the entire universe of streaming is wide open for exploration once more.
