The Hoody Guide on How to Bypass Geo-Blocking

What is geo-blocking?

Geoblocking is the act of denying or limiting access to certain internet content or web services based purely on the user's physical geographical location.

Geo-blocking is sometimes called geo-filtering or geo-restricting because it's often used to limit access instead of fully prohibiting an entire site or service. But to keep things simple, we won't distinguish between the two. For the purpose of this article, we'll stick with the term geo-blocking since the technology and its purpose are basically the same.

In order to fully answer “what is geo-blocking?” we need to go a little deeper into how it works.

How does geo-blocking work?

Every computer that connects to the internet has a unique identifier in the form of a series of numbers known as an IP address which stands for “Internet Protocol” address. The series contains four sections and looks something like “658.187.90.213”

When a user makes a request to a server for content, their computer's IP address is attached to that request. For those of you old enough to have used snail mail, think of it as putting a return address on a letter. Basically, it lets the server know where to send the requested content to.

Your IP address is unique but it doesn't always stay the same.

What we mean by that is, that you don't take your IP address with you. It changes depending on where you are.

For example, you use your laptop at home to watch Netflix, and you'll have an IP address that has been assigned to your router by your Internet Service Provider (ISP).

In the morning you might go to your local coffee shop with your laptop to do some work. Here, you'll have a new IP address as you'll be accessing the internet using a new network.

And when you jump on a flight and head halfway across the world for a vacation taking your laptop with you, you guessed it... you'll have a new IP address when you connect.

The location of an IP address is easily identifiable.

How?

Well, IP addresses are allocated by a global body called the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA). They assign IP addresses in blocks to certain countries. These blocks of IP addresses are then distributed to ISPs and other end users who in turn assign them to their customers or private clients all within that country.

If you want to know what address ranges have been allocated to particular countries, you can refer to one of the many IP address databases.

But an IP address doesn't just reveal what country you're in. It can even pinpoint the region, city, ZIP code, and the ISP.

Check it out for yourself by visiting Whatismyipaddress.com and see how accurate it is.

Basically, this is how geo-blocking works.

A server gets an internet request, sees the IP address, and can tell immediately where that request originates from. If it's from an IP address in a restricted country for that service, it will deny the request.

Why is geo-blocking a thing?

We've been led to believe that the world wide web serves a global community equally, but in reality that couldn't be further from the truth.

Big businesses, licensing companies, and even governments are constantly splitting the internet into geographical areas in order to control who sees what and more importantly, what they don't see. But why?

Well, there are a few reasons, some valid and some, not so much. Let's take a look at them.

Copyright and licensing agreements

If you stream content or use video-sharing services such as Amazon Prime, YouTube, or Netflix, then chances are you've come up against geo-blocking.

Using geo-blocking technology these platforms make specific content inaccessible to users from certain geographical regions.

The reason for this is copyright licensing agreements. For example, Netflix may have the distribution rights to show a particular TV program in the US market but not in the UK. This is the same with YouTube videos and Amazon Prime.

It's not really anything new. Remember DVDs? They had different regions. If you bought a DVD in the States it was likely region 1. If you tried to play that in a European DVD player which is region 2, then it wouldn't work. It's how the industry protected copyright and film distribution rights.

Restricted or illegal content in your location

Geo-blocking can also be used to enforce certain laws, for example, gambling regulations. In many states of the US, gambling is illegal. So, for example, if you live in Alabama, where both on-site and online gambling is illegal and you try to access an online casino site in the UK (where it is legal), you won't be able to. Thanks to your geo-location shown by your IP address.

The same goes for porn which is illegal in many countries such as Turkey, Belarus, Thailand, and throughout the Middle East. No Pornhub access allowed.

Censorship

Geo-blocking technology makes internet censorship easier. China and Russia are usually the first two countries that spring to mind for censoring online content for internet users within the country. But, they are not the only ones. According to internet censorship research by Comparitech, political media is restricted in 12 European countries and social media is restricted in five.

Image source: Comparitech

Dynamic pricing

Multinational corporations often use geo-blocking to modify their website content depending on a user's location. Tourism and retail are just two industries that use geo-location to increase (or decrease) their prices. Geo-location allows them to make assumptions about a user's income level and willingness to spend.

Is geo-blocking legal?

Mostly yes. We say “mostly” because the EU does have a geo-blocking regulation that makes unjustified geo-blocking for EU consumers illegal. This regulation ensures the right to shop like a local which means a consumer in France can make an online purchase from a store in Germany for the same price with the same rights as a German citizen. It's worth noting that the EU geo-blocking regulation doesn't extend to copyrighted content or services.

But other than this, geo-blocking is perfectly legal.

This might lead you to ask another question...

Is bypassing geo-blocking legal?

Technically, there are no laws prohibiting people from getting around a geo-block. That said, some services such as Netflix may see it as a violation of their terms of service. If they were to catch you bypassing the geo-block, they would be within their rights to terminate your account. But since you're a paying customer, they probably won't.

Of course, the other issue is if you're caught circumventing geo-blocking to avoid censorship. Usually, governments who implement the technology for the purpose of censorship aren't as forgiving.

So proceed with caution.

How to get around geo-blocking

To bypass geo-blocking and avoid the restrictions, censorship, or dynamic pricing that comes with it all you have to do is hide your IP address. There are a few different ways to do it.

VPN

A virtual private network or VPN hides your IP address by transferring and encrypting your traffic data through a server located in a different geographical region. It can be effective but there are a couple of drawbacks, the first being that it can really slow down your internet speed.

Hardly ideal if you want to bypass geoblocking to stream content.

The reduced speed is because your data request isn't going directly to the end server but through the VPNs. It's here that it encrypts the data before sending it on its way with the server's IP address attached. The website will then return the requested data back to that server which then directs it back to you. These additional steps mean it takes longer.

The speed will also depend on how many people are trying to connect to that same VPN server at the same time. Too many requests and it'll really impact your internet experience.

It also makes it pretty easy for streaming services to figure out if you're using a VPN. Streaming sites can see if an IP address has been used by multiple different users. All they have to do is add the VPN's IP address to a blacklist and you're back to being geo-blocked.

The other issue with this method is that some countries restrict or even ban the use of VPNs entirely. So it's not going to be a suitable option for everyone.

While most VPNs claim to not log user data, they do... They have customer data, including your name, email address, and financial details used to purchase the service. If this were to fall into the hands of an angry government or cybercriminals, you could be in a lot of trouble.

Proxy Servers

Proxy servers act in a similar way to VPNs as they act as intermediaries between your computer and the internet, hiding your IP address. They are usually free which might be appealing, but they are more complicated to set up. But the bigger deal is that they also don't encrypt the data.

In theory, this should make them a little faster than a VPN since they aren't doing the same amount of work but in reality, a proxy server is just as slow, and in many cases, slower than a VPN.

The reason for the lag is that proxy servers tend to have fewer configuration options and lack the infrastructure and support. Oh, and since they aren't encrypting your data it also means your browsing activity is more visible putting your privacy in danger.

Proxy servers also log and record your online requests, so again, just like VPNs, if the proxy server gets hacked or authorities get hold of it your activity on that server will be visible.

Smart DNS

A Smart DNS basically combines a DNS (Domain Name System) and proxy server technology to spoof your geolocation.

Proxies and VPNs redirect all of the user's traffic through their servers, but a SmartDNS will only send part of it. The rest travels through the web as normal. It doesn't change your IP address but only your device's DNS which is enough to trick servers into thinking you're in a non-geo-blocked region.

This data-light version makes it much faster than both proxies and VPNs. It's easier to set up too, with a one-time configuration on your home WiFi router. It might look like a good compromise, as you get greater speed for streaming, but you still lose out on privacy, security, and anonymity.

Tor

Tor stands for The Onion Router, and is an internet browser and popular method for bypassing geo-blocking. Tor uses the onion routing technique to transmit data with multiple layers of encryption (hence the onion analogy). As the data passes through a randomized and volunteer network of Tor relays or nodes, a layer of encryption is peeled away until it reaches its final destination. This means that the website's server is unable to see where the request originated from and user data is encrypted all along the network.

Tor is very effective at keeping your IP address hidden and providing privacy at the same time, but, unfortunately, it does make for a significantly slower web experience. Great for bypassing censorship but if you just want to watch the UK version of The Office, then it's not the right option.

Read more about the Tor browser here.

Hoody

We have worked out how to get around geo-blocking by combining geo-spoofing and complete privacy while also maximizing speed!

Hoody blends two groundbreaking technologies designed from scratch for privacy— our Phantom Browsing™ and Hoody's Bulletproof Privacy Network (BPN).

While Phantom Browsing™ anonymizes your local traffic and digital fingerprints on every browser, the BPN encrypts the locally modified network traffic and anonymizes your IP through multiple random relays.

Unlike VPNs, with Hoody, your device isn't locked to the same location. Hoody Smart Routing™ automatically chooses the most optimized and secure location for every website you visit.

You can also change it manually if you wish. Or have a different country for every website if you like. It's entirely up to you.

Here are the main features we've developed that make bypassing geoblocking with Hoody easy, fast, and safe:

Per browser setting: Watch Netflix US on Chrome and Netflix Canada on Firefox.

Per-app location switch: This can be particularly useful to get around country restrictions. If you live in one of the countries that have banned torrents for example. You can download torrents from Romania while using Stream in the US.

Accelerated browsing: Hoody speeds up your browsing experience instead of slowing it down, and can also increase the rate of downloads. In fact, Hoody makes browsing three times faster than regular browsing.

Disable IP protection on demand: There might be instances when you want your IP address to be recognized. For example, you want to search for a restaurant near your current location. With other options such as VPN, you'd have to turn off the VPN entirely, but with Hoody, you can turn it off for a specific browser or just for a specific website without any interruption to your other web activity.

Instant location switch: If you want to change locations, there's no need to ever disconnect. Simply switch location on the fly for a specific browser, tab, or website.

Strict no logs policy: Should an authority ever come knocking on our door for your data, we can't provide squat! We are privacy by design. We cannot store any data because we have created a system that doesn't collect it and doesn't require it to work. This means, your data is just that, YOURS.

Summing up

Geo-blocking may have its place in the world, but it can stop us from enjoying online content and can be used by oppressive regimes for censorship purposes. By covering topics such as “what is geo-blocking?” and how to get around geo-blocking restrictions, we hope that we can improve internet freedom for all, no matter where you are located.

Hoody App is finally here! Sign up today for a Hoody plan and start enjoying absolute privacy and anonymity online.