With a virtual private network (VPN), Internet users on computers or mobile devices not only benefit from increased security. Many services are unblocked because your machine seems to be located in the United States, Brazil or Vietnam depending on the server to which you are connected. New perspectives are opening up in terms of streaming, downloading from peer to peer sites and even gaming. Follow the guide, we tell you everything.
Some people still wonder the point of using a VPN. They only see the security aspect or just an easy way to browse and download content anonymously. But using a VPN is different for different users. Some are only interested in ultra-fast secure browsing, others in gaming. Still others prefer to watch films and TV series unpublished in France (or Belgium and Switzerland) or simply free. We have made a small selection of the best services of the moment.
Downloading pirated content is illegal and punishable by French law (up to 3 years of imprisonment and a fine of €300,000).
You can also find the legality of cultural works thanks to the HADOPI website.
Editor’s choice
See the offer
9.8
CyberGhost VPN
Editor’s choice
- Smooth GUI
- Performance and value for money
- Servers optimized for streaming and P2P
See the offer
9.8
See the offer
9.8
Value for money
See the offer
9.7
NordVPN Essential
Value for money
- Excellent performance
- Streaming (including Netflix US) and very efficient TV access
- Very large number of servers
See the offer
9.7
See the offer
9.7
See the offer
9.2
ExpressVPN
- Very high and linear connection speeds
- Wide geographic coverage
- Unblocks foreign streaming catalogs including Netflix US and Amazon Prime Video
See the offer
9.2
See the offer
9.2
Molotov (Streaming Fr)
Molotov is aimed exclusively at the French. More than 13 million have already been won over. The app allows you to watch French TV programs live or delayed (timeshifting and cloud recordings) for a subscription. French expatriates or travelers will be able to watch Joséphine Ange Gardien or another PAF gem abroad, at any time, thanks to VPNs. Options exist to access other paid channels (Mezzo, Starz Play, Spicee, etc.). An app exists for Windows, macOS, Android, iOS, smartTV and Android boxes (FireTV, AppleTV, Nvidia Shield, etc.).
Salto (Streaming Fr)
Faced with the Anglo-Saxon giants, the major French broadcasters (TF1 group, France Télévision, M6 group) came together to create Salto. There are more than 10,000 hours of series and films, but also youth programs and documentaries. US series are available 24 hours after their broadcast in the United States. For the moment, Salto works on recent browsers, but there is also an app for Windows, mobile devices (Android and iOS) and Android TV.
RTBF Auvio (Belgian Streaming)
RTBF Auvio is the SVoD and telecatch-up platform of the Belgian Radio-Television of the French Community, the equivalent of France Télévision. There are around ten TV channels and cult shows like Le Grand Cactus. In addition to reading on web browsers, an app exists for Android and iOS devices.
Play RTS (Swiss Streaming)
Play RTS constitutes the sVoD platform of Radio Télévision Suisse (French-speaking, that is to say French-speaking). There you will find TV series, films, documentaries and various programs from 4 TV channels, visible without a particular account. Often American series broadcast in France on TV are broadcast before in Switzerland…
Pluto TV (Streaming Fr)
Pluto TV has recently arrived in France. It is both a free video-on-demand service (funded by advertising) and a streaming service (broadcasting around forty channels, each with their own theme (art of living, kids, gaming, sports, etc.). thus unearths masterpieces like Stop rowing, you’re on the sand (Meatballs, with Bill Murray) or Sœur Thérèse.com.
Popcornflix (Streaming US)
Popcornflix mainly broadcasts films, but also TV series, animated series or documentaries, in English. There are a lot of nonsense but also classics (like The Great Gatsby) or exclusives from free or paid platforms like Rick Hunter. The other side of the coin is that the old videos have not been remastered and are therefore in VHS quality (digitized analog cassettes).
Crackle (Streaming US)
Crackle is another American portal for films and TV series set up by Sony. The catalog is therefore rich and varied, with more action films or Z series, but also classics like Chinatown. We also find some treasures like Parker Lewis never loses or Starsky and Hutch! No need for a subscription, there are just a few advertising intermissions.
Tubi (Streaming US)
Tubi is the largest ad-supported video portal with more than 20,000 films and TV series (like Alias or 24 Heures Chrono). The site is full of action and B-movies (including some in French), but it also boasts treasures like Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick) or Memento (Christopher Nolan). Note that there is a Tubi Kids section for children to have fun and learn English.
Vudu (Streaming US)
Vudu is a movie and TV series rental platform. The majority of videos are therefore for sale, but there are also many “TV shows” like 21 Jump Street or Mr Bean. It is necessary to log in (via Facebook or email) to access content, even free.
Obviously, conventional American portals like Disney+, HBO Max, Netflix, Prime Video, YouTube are also available in their American version (with a different catalog from Europe).
Oxtorrents (peer-to-peer)
Oxtorrents is the descendant of the very popular Torrent9. As its name suggests, this portal is dedicated to torrents, mainly of films and TV series although other content is also found. The advantage of Oxtorrents is to offer videos in French, from France (= truefrench) and or from Quebec. The portal indicates the number of seeders and leechers as well as the origin of the video (DVD, BD, web, etc.). You can download the torrent link (tracker) or just use a magnet link with your favorite torrent client. Oxtorrents boasts over 1,780,000 torrents and 1 million seeders. Torrents are generally of good quality, but be careful of mirror sites which are full of malware and advertisements.
The Pirate Bay (peer-to-peer)
The Pirate Bay, the most famous peer to peer site, is still alive despite multiple bans. The site is also exclusively accessible to VPN owners since the URL is banned by French ISPs. A gigantic database of TV series (more than 10 million torrents), films and documentaries but most often in English (sometimes with subtitles). The best rubs shoulders with the worst.
RARBG (peer-to-peer)
The RARBG site is originally Bulgarian (hence the BG). From now on, it is mainly in English. There you can find TV series and films that cannot be found elsewhere (often from Asia) and often of very good video quality. Be careful, however, not to come across a clone of the site containing malicious files.
Kickass (peer-to-peer)
Another sulfurous site, Kickass still persists, despite legal requests. There is something for every taste. Most multimedia content is in English, but simply add “French” in the search field to find films and TV series dubbed in French.
There is no special gaming platform, but the classic platforms (Steam, Epic, Playstation Store, Xbox Store, etc.) will automatically direct you to the desired geographic area, depending on the server to which you are connecting. Thus, with a New York server you access the American server (but with just the benefit of the dollar/euro exchange). By connecting to a Brazil or Vietnam server, the game prices will be lower than those practiced in France.