CyberGhost: how to unblock Netflix, Amazon Prime Disney+?

Let’s be honest: while a VPN offers many features, including online identity protection, many users use it for one reason only, which is to access geo-blocked content in other countries. Netflix is ​​easily the most famous and used streaming service in the world, and with a different catalog depending on the country, it stands out as one of the most used tools in conjunction with a VPN, since Netflix imposes streaming restrictions. access linked to the geolocation of its subscribers.

You still have to come across a service capable of accessing geoblocked content: free VPNs do not offer enough servers to really do the trick. This is not the case with CyberghostVPN: easily considered one of the best VPNs, CyberGhost can, among other purposes, help you bypass these geoblocks.

This Romanian service, originally founded in 2011, now has an impressive infrastructure, which compiles more than 9,000 servers spread across more than 100 different countries. And since streaming is a major issue today, some of these servers are specifically designed to unblock the different SVOD platforms, including Netflix. So, here we tell you how to use Cyberghost VPN to unblock Netflix geo-restricted content.

What are the benefits of unblocking Netflix?

Unblocking Netflix is ​​great, but what’s the point?

Access foreign catalogs

Netflix subscribers geolocated in a country can, according to the conditions of use of the platform, only access films and series from the catalog available for the territory. This therefore means that in France, it is only possible to stream content for which the broadcast rights have been acquired by the French branch of the service, whether recent or old programs. This explains, for example, the current unavailability of The Salopards Eight on Netflix France, although it is showing on Netflix US.

We take this opportunity to remind you that original Netflix creations (Stranger Things, Narcos, Don’t Look Up, etc.) escape this legal sectorization.

Access the French catalog from abroad

Following the same logic, a French subscriber traveling abroad will no longer have access to the Netflix France catalog, but to that of the country in which they are physically located. Eh yes ! Broadcasting rights do not apply to the nationality of the viewer, but rather to a limited geographical area.

But how on earth does Netflix know that its subscribers are wandering to the right or to the left? The answer is two letters: IP. When a PC or smartphone connects to the Internet (wired, Wi-Fi, 4G), the ISP that owns the network assigns it a unique identification number, the IP address, which allows the device to communicate with web servers. The IP also carries a certain amount of public information such as… the geolocation of the Internet user.

The best way to lure Netflix and make it believe that you are here rather than elsewhere is to swap your IP address – which all VPNs do – without being detected – which a handful of VPNs are capable of. ‘among them, including CyberGhost as confirmed in our comparison of the best VPNs for streaming.

How to unblock Netflix with CyberGhost?

As a reminder, when connecting to a VPN server, the user diverts their connection before it reaches the destination server. Traffic flowing between the source device and the VPN server is encrypted, isolated from other public HTTP/HTTPS traffic. Once on the VPN server, it is decrypted and rerouted normally to the target server which does not access the Internet user’s IP, but that of the intermediate VPN server.

If it has a sufficiently large server base, a VPN service can therefore make geoblocks put in place by services like Netflix obsolete. Aware of the challenges posed by this type of lure, the American firm is renowned for its anti-proxy measures which many VPN providers regularly encounter.

Choosing a server dedicated to streaming

With CyberGhost, no unpleasant surprises. In addition to its classic servers, the provider deploys servers optimized for streaming, clearly identified in the software client interface. Grouped together in the “For streaming” section, this equipment located in several countries easily circumvents the georestrictions imposed by SVOD platforms.

In order to direct the Internet user to the server that best suits their requests, CyberGhost indicates, under each connection point, the service for which it is optimized. In the case of Netflix, the provider has functional servers in Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Korea, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Singapore , in Sweden, in Turkey, and, of course, in France and the United States.

What to do in case of trouble ?

You have just initiated a VPN connection and loaded Netflix in your browser, but:

• Netflix has detected the use of a VPN and is blocking access to the platform and/or you are unable to access an extraterritorial catalog: remember to check that the VPN server to which you are connected is optimized for Netflix. If the problem persists, clear the browser cache (Ctrl+Shift+Del > Clear browsing data). Optionally, switch to private browsing. Disconnect and reconnect to the VPN.

• The Internet connection does not work: turn off the VPN. In CyberGhost settings, pull down CyberGhost VPN > VPN Protocol and manually select WireGuard, OpenVPN or IKEv2. Reconnect to the server of your choice. If the problem persists, restart your Internet box and/or your device.

Unblocking Netflix with Cyberghost, is it legal?

To the extent that Netflix acquires broadcasting rights for each country in which it operates and complies with national audiovisual laws, the question is more than legitimate. Using a VPN to bypass georestrictions, is it legal or not?

You should know that in France, the media timeline requires you to wait at least 4 months after its release in the cinema to rent or buy a feature film (digital or physical media), 6 months to see it on a channel accessible by subscription like Canal+ or OCS and 15 months to discover it on Netflix. For comparison, in the United States, a film recently released in theaters can land on Netflix after just 45 days.

While it is not explicitly prohibited by law to use a VPN to access foreign content, Netflix’s operating conditions fall within a legislative framework of exploitation rights and distribution of works very strict, varying from one country to another. We can then speak of a gray zone to the extent that, when circumventing this type of geoblocking, the Internet user is not, in France, considered outside the law. On the other hand, Netflix, yes. From a moral point of view, it must also be remembered that just because an action is not prohibited does not mean that it cannot be contrary to the principles of the law.