How to Unblock Websites and Free Your Internet | ExpressVPN (2024)

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Need a fast website unblocker app to access your favorite sites at school, at work, or anywhere in the world?

Learn how to unblock websites, access web services, and defeat censorship. Get the content you want— wherever you want it.

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Access services securely with a VPN

BBC iPlayer
DAZN
Disney+
ESPN
Facebook
Gmail
Google
HBO
Hotstar
Hulu
Instagram
Amazon Prime Video
Kodi
Netflix
Pinterest
Showtime
Sky Go
Skype
Sling
Snapchat
Spotify
Tinder
WhatsApp
Wikipedia
Vudu
YouTube
Zattoo

Click here for more services you can use with a VPN

How does a VPN unblock websites online?

Some governments and network administrators monitor internet traffic to limit access to certain websites. A VPN acts like a website unblocker by routing your traffic through an encrypted tunnel, so it can’t be inspected, manipulated, or censored.

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Encrypt your web traffic with ExpressVPN to unblock the sites you want, even if they’re censored in your country or blocked by the school, office, or public Wi-Fi network you’re using. When you connect to one of our servers around the world, you’ll be able to browse the internet with a new IP address and access sites that might otherwise be censored for you.

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Why would I want to unblock sites?

There are several scenarios in which you might want to unblock a website.

Censorship

Let’s say you’ve moved to a part of the world where the government censors sites like YouTube, Twitter, Skype, or Facebook. We believe you should be able to access these sites regardless of where you are. ExpressVPN helps you use popular social media services and read news sites to stay up to date. Many major companies also use VPNs in high-censorship countries to break through censorship to stay globally competitive.

At school or work

Many schools, universities, and workplaces block access to social media sites, streaming services, and more to limit distractions and save bandwidth. You can overcome these restrictions on your school or office’s Wi-Fi when you use ExpressVPN, as your device will not appear to be part of the restricted network.

Check out this list of services that can be accessed with ExpressVPN even on networks that block them.

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Unblock websites on all devices

Downloading ExpressVPN is easy. We’ve built beautiful, user-friendly apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, routers, and Linux, which you can start using in just a few clicks:

  1. Sign up for an ExpressVPN account.

  2. Download our apps.

  3. Connect to one of our server locations to unblock your favorite content!

What are you waiting for? Download ExpressVPN to unblock websites wherever you are.

What are the best ways to unblock websites?

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There are a variety of ways to unblock websites.

Free proxies. Using a free proxy has its limitations, namely that free proxies are likely choked with traffic, making them extremely slow. Free proxy providers must also find a way to recoup costs, and that might be to sell your data or serve you advertisem*nts.

Tor. Another way to access blocked sites is by connecting with Tor, which will increase your anonymity, too. However, some sites block Tor, and some networks won’t let you download the Tor browser. You might also experience slow speeds.

DNS. Changing your DNS or using Smart DNS can help you unblock sites but won’t encrypt your traffic. This means your connection isn’t private or secure.

Google cache. Google regularly crawls websites across the internet to create backups in the event a website goes down. This is a great way to view the contents of a website if it is not available, but you may be presented with outdated information depending on the last time a page was crawled. You can access Google cache pages by clicking on the three-dot symbol next to the URL on a Google search result. Once clicked, a pop-up box titled About this result will appear. Select Cached at the bottom of the page to view a cached version, if available.

Google Translate. A simple workaround to unblock a website involves using Google Translate to view blocked content. For this to work, type a blocked website’s URL into the input box on the left, and then click on the URL generated in the translation box on the right.

IP address. In instances where a specific URL is blocked on your network, a website can be accessed by using its IP address instead. To find a website’s IP address, you’ll need to access your operating system’s terminal and ping it’s URL. However, this doesn’t always work.

URL shortener. It is possible, in some cases, to access a blocked URL by using a URL shortener to mask a website’s address and trick your network into using that as the destination point instead. This method isn’t always successful, especially if your browser automatically routes to the source URL instead.

VPN. The easiest way to unblock sites while ensuring a secure online experience is to use a VPN. With ExpressVPN, you’ll be using our private, encrypted DNS, and get a fast connection, too.

To choose the right VPN server to connect to, determine which country you need to be in to access the content you want. Then open the ExpressVPN app on your device, select a server location in that country, and connect. You’re now free to enjoy your favorite content.

Why is ExpressVPN the best website unblocker?

With servers in 105 countries, ExpressVPN offers blazing-fast speeds so you can unblock the sites you want, when and where you want them. We also have outstanding customer support to lend a hand if you’re ever stuck. See for yourself: Our Support Team is awesome !

ExpressVPN encrypts your internet traffic, too, so you can rest assured that your data won’t be read, hacked, or stolen by your ISP, the government, or malicious entities.

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ExpressVPN is a fast, secure, and reliable way to use the internet —on any device, in any place, at any time. Try us risk-free today! If you’re not satisfied with our service for any reason within 30 days, we’ll give you your money back, no strings attached!

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* ExpressVPN is a privacy and security service and should not be used as a means of copyright circumvention. We cannot see or control what you do while connected to our VPN, so you are responsible for complying with our Terms of Service, your content provider’s terms, and any applicable laws.

FAQ: Unblocking websites with a VPN

By using a VPN! Download ExpressVPN on your phone or computer, and you’ll be able to access sites and services blocked by your school’s Wi-Fi. It is not recommended that you use a proxy to unblock websites at school. While certain proxies may be free to use, they don’t have the same level of encryption that VPNs provide.

Some sites may be blocked by your school, office, or government (also known as internet censorship). To unblock these websites, you may need to determine which countries have not blocked or censored this content. Then connect to an ExpressVPN server location in one of those countries, which makes you appear to be in that country and gives you access to blocked content.

Websites may be blocked by your school, workplace, government, or the site itself for a variety of reasons. Depending on your location, situation, or jurisdiction, it may not be legal to unblock a website.

With ExpressVPN’s Chrome extension ! In addition to helping you unblock websites in your Chrome browser, the extension comes with numerous security benefits such as automatically taking you to a webpage’s more secure HTTPS version if available and preventing sites from discovering your true IP address and location.

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Learn more about using a VPN

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How to Unblock Websites and Free Your Internet | ExpressVPN (2024)
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