Italy is an ancient country with wonderful historical scenes, so it’s not overly surprising that it’s an attractive destination for vacation-seeking individuals. However, if you are a US resident intending to choose Italy for your next vacation, we’d like to warn you – there is no US Netflix. We know that will come as a huge blow, especially with the US Netflix library boasting of hundreds of movies and shows that are unavailable on the Italian version.
Well, the good news is that there is a reliable solution in the form of a Virtual Private Network. Since the unavailability of US Netflix in Italy is caused by Netflix’s geo-restrictions, a VPN simply bypasses the restrictions. However, as simple as this sounds, not every VPN can do it. If you want to learn how to watch US Netflix in Italy, this comprehensive guide has everything you need. From our top VPN recommendations to the helpful tips, everything here seeks to bring your favorite Netflix content to you.
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Our Top VPN Recommendations for US Netflix
Netflix is putting a lot of effort into blocking VPNs providers, and to their credit, they’ve been partially successful. At the moment, only a few VPN providers are still effective against Netflix geo-restrictions, some of which we’ve reviewed below.
NordVPN
With its focus being primarily on security, bypassing censorship, and getting past geo-restrictions, NordVPN is a great option if you want to get Netflix USA in Italy. To make this happen, the provider has more than 5,000 servers across 58 countries. Impressively, a mind-blowing 1,800 of those servers are located all over the United States, making things much easier.
For more advanced users, NordVPN provides specialty servers, including anti-DDoS, onion over VPN, double VPN, and obfuscated servers. The purpose of obfuscated servers is to conceal the fact that you’re utilizing a VPN. Thanks to these specialty servers, NordVPN is one of the most reliable VPNs for getting past geo-restrictions.
Another noteworthy thing is that there’s no limit on your bandwidth usage, which makes sense for movie enthusiasts. The customer support is also reliable, offering round-the-clock assistance. About pricing, the affordability of the available plans is almost unbelievable. Not only that, but each plan also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
ExpressVPN
Another VPN provider that you can always rely on for unblocking US Netflix in Italy is ExpressVPN. Operating over 3,000 servers across almost 100 countries worldwide, it’s easy to see why the service is so reliable. Apart from having a broad server network, the provider also offers blazing speeds, the fastest in the market.
More impressively, ExpressVPN has a Netflix recommendation feature, where they recommend the servers currently working for each location. This makes things easier for users as they don’t need to test all the servers before finding one that works. Every plan also includes the MediaStreamer smart DNS proxy service, helping you to unblock geo-restricted websites on devices that aren’t compatible with VPNs.
In terms of support quality, it hardly gets better than ExpressVPN. Not only are their representatives responsive, but they’re also well-informed, knowledgeable, and friendly. The plans are quite expensive, but you should take some solace from the free three months that come with the 12-month plan.
PureVPN
Taking the third position on our list is PureVPN, which with its Netflix support alone, is one of the most popular VPN providers out there. The network is very reliable, thanks to the 6,000+ servers that are spread over 180+ locations around the world. The company has a good number of servers in the US, so there won’t be a shortage of US servers.
Furthermore, there’s no bandwidth limit with this provider, so you can stream your favorite movies to your heart’s content. In terms of speed, you’d get decent speeds with this service. While it’s definitely not as fast as ExpressVPN, it’s not slow either.
The customer support also performs well enough, providing convenient means to reach them. For pricing, you’d be blown away by the plans on offer. Every plan is cheaper than what its competitors offer, making PureVPN an attractive option.
How to Watch US Netflix in Italy with a VPN
The steps look quite easy, truly, but some people will still have a hard time figuring them out. For you to watch US Netflix in Italy, you need to follow these steps below.
- Choose your preferred VPN provider from our recommended list.
- Once you’ve picked a VPN provider, pick a suitable package.
- Now, download and install the VPN application on your device.
- After that is done, connect to the US server of your choice.
- As soon as it’s connected, open Netflix, and begin to watch American Netflix in Italy.
Why is American Netflix Different from Italian Netflix?
If you’re wondering why you need a VPN to access American content in Italy in the first place, it all boils down to rights issues. While Netflix also produces some movies and shows itself, it buys rights to most of its content. These distribution rights are usually sold by countries and Netflix always has to face strong competition from local streaming services as well as international rivals.
In the end, it wins some of the rights, while it loses others. As a result, some movies and TV shows are unavailable on some Netflix libraries as the company must put each content in only the countries for which its rights have been bought.
Originally, Netflix is an American company, so it’s not surprising that they’ve bought more rights for the US library than they have for other libraries. While they are working on changing that in the future, for now, US Netflix has much more content than every other library.
What Is a VPN?
If you are wondering what exactly a VPN is, we understand, so we’ve detailed what a VPN is and how it works here. Also known as a Virtual Private Network, a VPN is a computer tool that is used primarily for protection on the internet, but it does other things. One of the other things it does is making you appear somewhere other than your real location. It does this by channeling your connection through an encrypted channel.
How a VPN Enables Access to American Netflix Content
When a non-US resident craves content only available in the US Netflix library, they just launch their VPN application, join a US server, load their Netflix app, and start watching their favorite shows. Apparently, this connection appears to Netflix with a United States IP address, so they automatically direct the connection to the US-licensed content.
Well, it used to be this straightforward, but it’s a little more complicated nowadays. Netflix has cracked down on VPN services in recent times, so they’ve blacklisted hundreds or thousands of IP addresses that belong to VPN providers.
How do they identity IP addresses that belong to VPN servers? Quite simple. The company keeps a tab on connections originating from the same IP addresses, so they automatically assume that it belongs to a VPN provider and block it from ever opening their content.
In an ideal world, the VPN provider will realize that Netflix has blocked one of its servers, so they will immediately create a new server alongside a new IP address, allowing its users to have access again. However, once Netflix detects their new IP address again, they will block it and the cycle continues.
This is why only a few providers with unlimited resources are only able to unblock Netflix. Nowadays, the streaming company has become really good at spotting VPN servers, so some VPN providers have completely given up in their efforts to unblock Netflix.
Of course, there’re still providers that give Netflix access on a consistent basis, but they are investing a lot of resources to this effect. They are always setting up new servers in different locations, to replace servers being blocked.
Can I use a free VPN with Netflix Italy?
No, you can’t get American Netflix in Italy using a free VPN. It’s not even every paid service that successfully bypasses the anti-proxy firewall of Netflix. To be blunt, it’s not possible for free VPNs to unblock US Netflix has they lack the resources. Not only do they usually have limited server selection, but they also have bandwidth and data caps.
Most free VPNs generate revenue by infringing on the privacy of users, injecting advertisement cookies into their users’ browsers. This way, they mine their browsing data and sell it to third-parties. In fact, some free VPN providers carry malicious malware that is capable of damaging, infecting, and stealing data from you.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a VPN for Netflix Access
Streaming Speeds – For a great streaming experience, you must choose a fast VPN. Nothing is more annoying that streaming a show or movie that keeps pausing every minute to load. Apart from that, high definition videos are only smooth on fast connections.
Ability to Counter Netflix’s VPN Detectors – As we explained earlier, Netflix has intensified their VPN-detection protocol in recent times, making things much more difficult for VPN services. Thanks to this reason, you will need a VPN that has a track record of bypassing Netflix anti-proxy firewall. Otherwise, the only thing you will keep getting is an error message that the content is unavailable in your location.
Customer Support – Since things are always changing, you need a VPN provider with a reliable customer service. As soon as you encounter issues, there must be agents readily available to help you combat them. For instance, if the streaming company locks out your IP address, there should be an assistant available to help you find a working server instantly.
Global Server Coverage – When picking a VPN provider, you want to have a lot of options as regards the numbers of countries you can use. Therefore, the provider you will choose eventually must have a very broad server network.
Privacy – It’s also important to choose a VPN provider that prioritizes privacy, regardless of the website you are browsing. The providers we featured here have privacy data laws, guaranteeing that your information is always safe with them.
Conclusion
Whether you are a permanent resident or you’re just in Italy for a short time, you don’t have any reason to miss your favorite US movies and shows on Netflix. To offer you a way out, we’ve detailed everything on how to watch US Netflix in Italy in this guide. At a time when Netflix’s clampdown on unblockers and proxies is worse than ever, the VPNs we’ve recommended are still reliable.
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