How to use a VPN to change your location
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While the best VPNs are primarily known for their privacy tools, one of the most important uses of a VPN is to use the service to appear like you are in a location where you are not. So, if you are in the US, you can use your VPN to make it appear as if you are in the UK, Japan, South Africa or Russia.
If this sounds like it would take some effort on your part to make it happen, you’d be wrong – modern VPNs are incredibly easy to use, and make this process possible with just a few clicks. So here is our complete guide to changing your location with a VPN.
How does a VPN change your location?
A VPN works by routing your traffic through its own servers, and encrypting it at the same time. Unlike your ISP, which has a huge number of servers located in your country, a VPN usually has smaller banks of servers spread all over the world – and usually, the better the VPN, the more servers and server locations you have to choose from.
If you connect, for example, to a French server using your VPN, all of your traffic will travel through that server before heading towards the website you entered in the URL bar. Then this site will recognize you as a French user, because your traffic comes from a server in France.
How to use a VPN to change your location
Using a VPN to change location is really simple, but it can be a daunting prospect for someone who hasn’t done it before.
First, you need to register and download the VPN. We highly recommend ExpressVPN thanks Large selection of servers and incredible reliability. Once you sign up and download the app (follow the steps on your provider’s website), you’ll want to open it like any other program you might use.
You will likely see a large on/off switch which will connect you to the nearest or fastest server. However, if you want to change the location, you will have to find your VPN server list. This list is usually very easy to find, and once you open it up, all you have to do is select the country/server you want to connect to.
Click that, get connected, and for all intents and purposes you are wherever that server is.
(Photo credit: Martin Sanchez)
Why do you want to change the location?
There are a number of reasons why you might want to change your location with a VPN.
The biggest reason is to access various regional streaming libraries on Netflix or Amazon Prime, as well as to access geo-blocked streaming services like BBC iPlayer, NBC’s Peacock, and Hulu. With the right VPN, you will be able to watch more content load completely by switching location and appearing in a different country. If that sounds good, it’s definitely worth checking out our Netflix VPN guide, as well as our streaming VPN guide.
It’s not just TV and movies, many sporting events are available in one country but not in another, or perhaps the price to watch is much cheaper abroad. In that case, you can set your VPN to whichever country has the best deal in the event and you will be able to watch it, very likely saving you a bit of money in the process.
However, the lesser known reason to do this is to get better prices for products, especially digital services. Some companies offer different rates for those in different countries. This means that if you take the time to check prices from a number of sites when you’re looking to buy software, you may be able to save a fair amount — possibly making the VPN effectively pay for it.
What is the best VPN for changing location?
If you are looking to change location with a VPN, you will need a service with a good variety of locations. While NordVPN and CyberGhost have a massive number of servers (5200 and 6400 respectively), ExpressVPN is the one that covers the most countries (94), and still has a whopping 3000 servers under its control.
Compare the prices of the best VPNs today
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