YouTube is a video-sharing website where people can upload, share, like, comment and watch online videos. YouTube currently has around 2 billion monthly active users.
YouTube users often come across some difficulties watching specific videos in their country. They receive error messages like “This content is not available in your country”, “the video is private” or “the uploader has not made this video available in your country”. So here we will answer all the possible methods that will help you to know how to watch blocked YouTube videos.
How to Watch Blocked YouTube Videos
Let us introduce some of the effective methods to watch blocked YouTube videos from anywhere. So, try these simple ways to bypass YouTube’s regional filter easily.
Method 1: Use VPN
You can bypass the region block by using a VPN (Virtual Private Network), which means browsing from another location.
VPN gives you online privacy by encrypting your internet traffic and route. Eventually, it hides your IP address from the Internet Service Provider. It even unblocks the geography-restricted internet areas.
Before you connect through a VPN to watch YouTube blocked, Here are some of the trusted no-logs VPN
- ExpressVPN
- NordVPN
- Surfshark
- CyberGhost
- VyprVPN
Method 2: Use Proxy Server
A proxy server is a server application that acts as a portal between your computer and the internet. It routes your request through their servers to bypass your current region.
Usually, YouTube tracks its visitors through their IP addresses. So, by masking the real IP address and changing it with a different country’s IP, you can lift geo-blocking.
Although it doesn’t encrypt your internet activity, you can use Proxy servers to browse YouTube videos without exposing your IP address.
The process to connect Proxy server in chrome
To connect proxy server in Chrome, use the following steps:
- Go to the Google Chrome webpage.
- Click on the three dots icon from the top right corner.
- Click Settings>Advanced>System>Open your computer’s Proxy Settings.
- Click Lan Settings.
- Mark the box next to Use a Proxy Server for your LAN.
- Click Ok and Apply.
Method 3: Try Hooktube
HookTube is a YouTube alternative that can be used to omit regional or age- restrictions on videos. Its simplified interface makes HookTube videos load faster and stream without any distractions.
Watch blocked YouTube videos on HookTube:
- Open HookTube by visiting the official website.
- Search with the video title in the search bar.
- Press enter, find the video and watch it.
There is even another easier way too.
- Open the blocked video on YouTube.
- In the YouTube URL from the address bar, replace “you” with “hook”. This means if the URL of the video is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH4NA, replace it with https://www.hooktube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH4NA
- Thus, by redirecting YouTube URL to HookTube, you can now access those geo-blocked videos.
Method 4: Smart DNS
Smart DNS is a tool that opens geographical-restricted areas by using your Domain Name Server (DNS). It works like a proxy server and helps to hide your location, IP address while accessing online contents of different regions.
However, Smart DNS doesn’t protect your device from security threats like VPN. It only allows you to view your favorite restricted streaming content.
So, if you’re interested to use Smart DNS to watch blocked Youtube Videos, follow the steps:
- Log in to the Admin Panel of your router.
- Type the username and password of your router Admin.
- Search for DNS settings and change them to Smart DNS Proxy IPs.
Note: If your DNS is not in automatic mode, take a note of the given DNS IPs to change the settings to the old IPs.
- Save the new settings and restart your router.
Method 5: Download YouTube Videos
A less hectic way is to download the blocked videos and watch them offline.
You need to subscribe to YouTube and be a premium member to download videos and watch them offline.
In case you are out of budget then also you can download YouTube videos for free.
- Some software like Minitool uTube downloader is available for downloading YouTube videos.
- Making some changes in the video URL can also get the job done for you. Suppose the URL is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH4NA. You need to add “ss” at the beginning like https://www.ssyoutube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH4NA. Hitting enter will redirect you to the official site of “Saveform.net”. From here, you can download the YouTube video.
Method 6: Using Tor Browser
Tor is an open-source free browser that enables the user to stay online anonymously. It’s a perfect powerful privacy tool to mask your IP. The Tor network is a collection of some special servers across the world.
It receives and then encrypts your internet traffic three times and routes it to three different servers to make your online presence untraced.
However, before using Tor, permission from the local authority is required to avoid legal consequences while watching a blocked video.
Let’s get into details on how to watch YouTube videos using the Tor browser.
- First, download and install the Tor browser on your device.
- Try to set the Tor server according to its last routing location. Thus only you can bypass the YouTube geo-restriction.
- Now type the blocked YouTube video link to get access to it.
Method 7: Edit YouTube Video URL
However, you can even change the URL of blocked YouTube content.
- Open the blocked video on YouTube and check the address bar.
- The URL will look like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9AYPxH4NA
- Remove the word “watch” from the link.
- Replace “v=” with “v/”.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why YouTube Videos are blocked in other countries?
There can be several reasons why YouTube videos might be blocked in some countries.
1. License Issue: Certain major companies don’t make their content available to some countries due to license problems. Either they don’t have the right to share the entertainment materials in some regions, or they have limited access to some countries.
2. Violating Local Law: Violating local laws and spreading hate speech cause blocking of YouTube videos.
3. National Security Legislation: In 2014, Turkey blocked YouTube for almost a week because a video got leaked, which has some voices recorded in the PM’s office. This raised concerns and created a “National Security Issue” and led to YouTube blocking. If national security is at stake, videos might get blocked.
4. Network restriction: Many organizations especially schools or offices put network restrictions to prevent students and workers from watching online content. In this way, schools try to lower the online activity of students and offices use it to increase the efficiency of employees.
Are free youtube unblocker safe?
Unfortunately No. Although unblockers are the easiest way to view blocked YouTube content, they are not safe. So, if you are concerned about security, a free YouTube unblocker might not be a sensible option.
How do I make youtube videos not blocked?
The best way to unblock YouTube videos is VPN. You just need to search for a suitable VPN extension for your browser and add it to your browser. After that, you can select any country before opening your desired video.
It will hide your original location and mask the IP address as if you’re accessing from the selected country. Moreover, it lifts the geo-restriction of a video.
Conclusion
Watching a blocked video is not a criminal activity. If you are curious to watch certain content then you can surely use the methods mentioned in the article. However, be careful while using any proxy server or VPN. If you are not using a reliable proxy server or VPN, then your information might get leaked. Enjoy the videos without violating any laws or regulations.