Avast is a well-known solution for privacy. It can mask your IP address, encrypt Internet traffic, and protect your data from the prying eyes. But what else can it do? Does Avast Secureline VPN work with Netflix or has it fallen another victim in the war between unblockers and the streaming service? Let’s find it out.
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Why Doesn’t Avast VPN Work with Netflix
Netflix’s crusade against VPNs stated in 2016 when it officially announced its intention to ban all kinds of unblockers. Until that moment, Netflix implemented geo-blocks but did little to prevent workarounds. Experts speculate that the reason for this anti-proxy campaign was complaints of copyright holders. Allegedly, they could have sold more broadcast licenses to Netflix if customers stopped accessing videos through other countries.
Indeed, to add a title to a catalog of any country, Netflix must acquire broadcasting rights first. If some video is missing in your local library, it means that Netflix hasn’t forked out for a license. Over time, it may decide to pay for it. However, if any viewer could access video catalogs of various countries, then Netflix wouldn’t have to lay out more money for broadcasts. Copyright holders noticed this loophole and started threatening Netflix to remove it.
The streaming platform was forced to implement an unblocker recognition system to detect and ban VPNs. It does the job so well that the majority of providers found themselves blacklisted. However, there is a handful of VPNs that can still unblock Netflix. The question is whether Avast Secureline is one of them.
Why Do You Need a VPN for Netflix?
As we noted above, a VPN is a way to access video catalogs of other countries. When you log into your Netflix account, it sees where you are from. This is because your device’s IP address is tied to your current location. If for some reason you want to pretend to be from another country, you just need to change your IP address. This is what VPNs are best for.
These services will also come in handy to maintain high connection speed while streaming. It’s no secret that many Internet providers practice throttling if users use too much bandwidth. Video streaming is one of those data-consuming activities. To make you stop taking too much bandwidth, your ISP can artificially slow down the connection. However, if you go online with a VPN, your activities become invisible. If your ISP does not know what you do, it cannot slow you down.
For these two reasons, you may want to have a VPN when watching Netflix.
Can I Watch Netflix with Avast Secureline VPN?
You will never know until you try. Luckily, you don’t have to spend your money on trial and error because we intend to try it for you.
We subscribed to Avast VPN and tested how it works with Netflix. During the first round, we checked if the service can unblock American Netflix. Currently, it has around 20 servers in the USA and we connected to every single one of them. Unfortunately, Netflix refused to work regardless of the location we picked.
In the second round, we tried to access Netflix in the UK, Brazil, and Canada through reaching servers in these countries accordingly. The result remained unchanged – Netflix detected a VPN and turned us down.
To be honest, we didn’t really hope for a positive result. Avast Secureline has an extremely tiny network comprising of only 55 servers. Blocking their IP addresses is like taking candy from a baby. Unless Avast starts expanding its server count, it will remain banned for good.
Alternative VPNs to Watch Netflix
Avast Secureline VPN is a no-go for Netflix but you can easily replace it with a decent alternative. In the table below, we collected three VPNs that asserted themselves as an effective solution to bypass the Netflix ban:
- Provider
- User Rating
- Price
NordVPN- 14827 Votes
- $3.29 / month
PureVPN- 7715 Votes
- $3.24 / month
ExpressVPN- 6930 Votes
- $6.67 /mo
Conclusion
Avast Secureline VPN doesn’t work with Netflix; at least, not until it starts steadily growing its server network. For now, you can opt for excellent alternatives that are secure, fast, and powerful enough to unblock Netflix.
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