Geo-blocking may have started so that businesses could serve location-relevant advertisements to people connected to the Internet. It does not make sense to advertise British products that may not be relevant to, say, India. Of course, there are more reasons why content is geo-restricted. This article will explain why content is more often accessible only from specific locations and the solutions to circumvent geo-restrictions.
Why is content geo-restricted?
Let’s start with the most obvious reason why content can be geo-restricted. A product may cost more or less in a different region. This does seem ‘discriminatory’, but the initial idea was to make the product affordable in different regions. Another use case of geo-restrictions is to block casino or gambling content from regions where it is considered illegal.
Speaking of widely known reasons why content is geo-restricted, another reason is because governments use force to block content from certain areas and companies. For example, in China, many websites are blocked. In some countries, WhatsApp and similar social media platforms are blocked. In some countries, you cannot access Biblical or Christian sites and so on. There are many reasons why the government decides to block certain content.
Geo-restriction of content is also used by businesses in the entertainment industry to prevent users in a different geographical region from accessing, say, American films or music. At the same time, online entertainment providers like Netflix and others do not provide the same content in different countries. They provide content tailored for the local populace. But what if someone in Poland wants to watch what someone in America is watching on Netflix?
This brings us to another question. Is it possible to access geo-restricted content from a computer in a region where the content is blocked? Here are the four most popular methods being used. However, not all of them are reliable or foolproof. All four methods have their plus and minus points. Read on to see how you could access geo-restricted content that is available on the Internet.
Most popular solutions to unlock geo-blocked content
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Using a Proxy
A proxy server is an intermediary that acts as a gateway between a user’s device and the rest of the Internet. A proxy can hide or mask a user’s Internet Protocol (IP address) and provide another IP address that can trick the geo-restricted site into believing that a user is requesting content from the same country. For example, while sitting in Holland, you can use a Germany proxy to get geo-restricted content from Germany. If you want to read another article about a Germany proxy, visit Oxylabs’ website for more information. Usually, proxies are used by international companies that are interested in accessing geo-restricted content to collect public data for competitors’ analysis, review monitoring, brand protection, etc. Of course, proxies can be used by regular users as well.
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Using a Virtual Private Network (VPN)
VPNs are another popular way for someone to bypass geo-restrictions. It is a similar solution to using a proxy server, but you should know the main difference between them before deciding which is more suitable for you. A VPN will not only hide your original IP address and give you its IP address, but it will also encrypt your data so nobody can find out where the request came from. However, this may slow things down a bit because of the extra overhead to encrypt your data.
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Using a Smart Domain Name Service (DNS)
A smart DNS can hide your IP address and provide a new IP address that “fools” the geo-restricted site into thinking that you are a local computer. The smart DNS solution also prevents the restricted site from finding out your exact geographic location. However, your data can be hijacked as it whizzes over open lines. Your data is not secure when using a smart DNS.
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Using the Onion Router (Tor)
Yet another way to access geo-restricted content is to use Tor, which relays your request over a network of computers run by volunteers. However, Tor does not provide a reliable connection as the relaying computers can be blocked by their Internet Service Providers (ISPs). Some countries also totally block Tors.
Summary
There are many reasons why content can be geo-restricted. However, there are a few solutions to access geo-restricted content from anywhere in the world. Using proxy servers, VPNs, smart DNS services, or Tor can get the required information from all around the world.
