If you have gotten hooked on one of the world’s largest streaming services, i.e. Hulu, then there is no doubt in my mind that you would like to be able to access its library and take a look at both the live channels, as well as the TV shows and movies that are available. Well, here is a question for you? Why don’t you just subscribe to the service and start enjoying it? Oh, if only things were that easy, am I right?
Sure, things are that easy if you are located in the United States. In South Africa, though, this can be a bit trickier than anyone might have expected it. The same goes for every single other country that’s not the USA. You are now probably wondering what it is that makes this service different in different countries. Shouldn’t it all be the same?
It probably should, but the simple truth is that it isn’t. To put things simply, Hulu blocks its content geographically and this means that you will need to be in the United States of America in order to even be able to watch it. That can be quite frustrating and a bit unfair to the rest of the world, but it’s just the way things are.
This can also be unfair to people who have bought their subscriptions in America and then decided to travel or live outside the country for a while. What are they to do? Is their subscription simply going to go to waste? Well, they can always give the login information to their friends and family members, so that the subscription doesn’t go to waste.
What if you, however, don’t want to give this service up even when you leave the USA? And, what if you want to start using it even if you never set foot on US soil in your life? Is something like that possible at all? It could be, with the help of a little thing called a VPN.
Wait, So You Can Watch Hulu Outside The USA?
Since you are now probably confused by the idea of being able to circumvent those geographical restrictions that I have been talking about, let me give you a straightforward answer to a few questions. No, Hulu’s content isn’t unblocked outside the USA. Yes, you can still watch it regardless of where you are located.
I know that it might appear as if these two answers were contradicting one another and that’s probably because they are. Yet, I am definitely telling the truth in both cases. To sum it up, even if the content is blocked, you can still find a way to watch it outside the United States of America. The only question is how, and that’s what we are going to focus on right now.
How Can You Do It?
As I have briefly mentioned above, if you really want to succeed in watching Hulu outside US borders, then you will need to get some help from a VPN. In case you haven’t heard about it before, a virtual private network (VPN) is used to encrypt your data, hide and mask your online behavior from prying eyes, and thus create a secure network connection. What does this have to do with Hulu, though?
Here’s some more info about what a VPN is and how it works: Forbes Software
Be patient, we are about to see exactly what this has to do with Hulu and how it can, thus, be of help to you. Before we get to explaining that, though, you will need to understand how things work online with and without a VPN. This will probably shed some light on how this service can be useful to you.
Whenever you visit a certain website, your computer is connected to a specific server – the one where the site is hosted. Consequently, the website will be able to get a certain amount of information about you and your computer. The amount of information that will be visible usually depends on the site itself.
However, the website you visit is not the only place where your information will show. In fact, your Internet Service Provider will be able to gather the information as well. The worst part is, this leaves you open and vulnerable to certain cyber-attacks, and I am pretty certain that you don’t want that to happen. Let us now see what happens if you connect to a certain site using a VPN.
Basically, when your VPN is on, instead of connecting to the site’s server directly, you will actually connect to a private one first. There, all the information your computer sends out will be scrambled, making tracking far more difficult to third parties. Your real data won’t be shown, and you will, thus, be much more protected, which is one of the main reasons why you need a VPN in the first place.
What I have been saying so far is pretty useful, but there is absolutely no mention of Hulu, which is probably confusing you. So, let me now explain how Hulu fits into the picture and how a virtual private network can actually help you watch it, regardless of where it is that you are physically located. Your physical location is less important here, since it’s all about the virtual location.
To put things simply, by allowing you to scramble your data, a VPN actually allows you to change your IP address and make it seem as if you were located wherever you want to be. So, let’s say you are in South Africa and Hulu’s content is blocked there. What is it that you will need to do in order to unblock that content and be able to watch it without actually leaving the country?
In few words, all you will have to do is find a good VPN provider, start using this service and then connect to a specific server that is located in the United States of America. Why the US, you wonder? Well, if you’ve been paying attention to what I’ve been saying, then you already know that connecting to a US server is necessary because that’s where Hulu is available and that’s where none of its content is actually blocked. As you can see, this whole process is rather simple, and you’ll be able to enjoy Hulu in no time after you have found the perfect VPN for you.
How To Choose A VPN?
That’s the thing, though. Now that you know what a VPN is and why you might want to use it (additional info), you will have to think about how to find and choose the perfect one for you. Let me start by saying that the quality of this service will ultimately depend on the provider you choose, meaning that the provider is precisely what you should focus on.
In case you aren’t exactly sure how to search for and find the perfect provider, let me offer some tips. First things first, you might want to talk to the people around you that have already been using these services, because they might be able to give you some recommendations. Then, you should also do some online research of your own and make a list of potential VPN providers that could be right for you.
Of course, there are a few significant factors to take into consideration when trying to decide which provider to choose. You should, unsurprisingly, take a look at the list of servers if possible, so that you can check the locations that they offer and determine whether the USA is even an option, as that’s precisely what you need. Then, you should also test the speed of particular VPNs, as well as determine the reputation of specific providers and their customer support, in order to know whether to expect high quality services.