If you’re a Netflix user who likes the flexibility of accessing libraries from different countries, you’re probably finding that more difficult.
The streaming giant is going farther with its efforts to block users from accessing the service using VPN and proxy servers to bypass geographical restrictions.
A report from Torrent Freak this week says Netflix is starting to block residential IP addresses as well as commercial IPs. VPN providers have taken to using residential addresses in order to fool Netflix into thinking there’s no illicit access taking place.
Now the company appears to be fully onto the practice and making life more difficult for Americans wishing to access some of the best UK comedy via a VPN, for example.
However, because of Netflix’s increased activity, many people are now seeing “missing content” messages even when accessing the service in their own homes, without using a VPN. Some of these users can only access Netflix Originals, which are available in all territories.
One VPN service in particular, WeVPN told Torrent Freak that every day users are becoming “collateral damage” as Netflix goes about blacklisting IPs suspected of being utilised by VPN companies.
“The collateral damage is that you have hundreds of thousands of legitimate residential Netflix subscribers blocked from accessing Netflix’s local country full catalog from their home,” a WeVPN spokesperson said.
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Netflix says that it is working with users to restore lost content and also confirmed that it is blocking everything but Netflix original content for those suspected of using VPN and proxy services to access the streaming library. So, if you’re hoping to catch up on Men Behaving Badly from the US, you’re probably going to be out of luck.
Have you experienced any problems using Netflix with or without a VPN in recent months? Should Netflix just turn a blind eye to VPN users? Let us know @trustedreviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
