Anyone who has traveled outside of their home country since the advent of smartphones knows the trouble with limitations like app blocks. In like manner, travels outside of one’s home country show services such as Google Maps, WhatsApp, and Yelp subject to international roaming charges. And we all know those can pile up mighty fast.
Hassle though that can be, that’s not the worst overseas discovery awaiting many smartphone users. Â As many Apple and Google message boards full of complaints can attest, certain popular apps are suddenly not available at all. To clarify, this happens no matter what kind of price you’re willing to pay.
Why There Are App Blocks Overseas
There’s no uniform reason for this issue. Each app creator has control over the range of their app’s distribution. Furthermore, all sorts of economic and technical factors come into play. Some apps run on hardware that does not work on a global level. Sometimes, apps feature copyrighted content that is only available within a narrow range of countries. Moreover, app developers sign contracts with companies that demand a certain regional exclusivity.
As shown above, waiting around for this to change is a waste of time, since the broad list of factors could not be fixed with one solution. Uganda recently blocked Twitter, Facebook, and WhatsApp during the run-up to presidential elections. Saudi Arabia blocked Facebook Messenger‘s voice and video calling service for supposed failure to comply with telecom regulations. Deezer’s music streaming service evidently went to great pains to make itself available around the world. Although China and Iran quickly blocked the Deezer app. While Hulu is only available to those in the US and Japan.
But instead of lamenting your lack of access to Apple Music outside of the US, or Pandora outside of Australia, New Zealand, and the US, or BBC iPlayer outside the UK, what you’ll want to do is learn how to circumvent these kinds of regional app blocks. And there we can help you.
Let’s not forget about other popular streaming services like Zattoo, WatchESPN, or Amazon Instant Video. When you start counting it up, the potentially limited availability of your favorite blocked streaming services or apps while traveling could be quite frustrating.
Avoid Google Play and Apple App Blocks From Anywhere With a VPN
Well, maybe it’s not that simple. There are certain tricks you need to know because you can’t just download a US-based app from anywhere in the world. You need a US-based credit card. In fact, there’s a terrific MakeUseOf article on exactly what steps you need to take to download US apps from outside the country. As a matter of fact, it involves making an iTunes account without a credit card and buying iTunes gift cards.
As far as Android apps are concerned, a VPN goes a long way to helping you bypass geo-restricted apps around the world. All you need to do is re-start your device and connect to your VPN. Lastly, you will choose a server in a country that features the app you’re looking to use.
Be warned though; VPNs do have their enemies. Netflix has been particularly strict about shutting down users who appear to be using their VPNs to geo-hop to another country’s streaming library. And if you’re in the United Arab Emirates, VPN usage is all but banned, as their government is discouraging any VoIP services that are not available in the UAE. You can thank their two leading telecom companies, Etisalat and du, for that restriction.
Generally speaking, those are the exceptions, and they have been fairly widely condemned by people who care about online security. It seems obvious to say, but people value their privacy and widespread VPN usage isn’t going anywhere.
So while there is no cure-all for the regional-app-restriction blues, we do highly recommend subscribing to a VPN. Even if cybersecurity issues do not bother you, VPNs make online location-jumping immensely easier, and will always come in handy when you’re having trouble accessing an app you need in a land that doesn’t allow it.
How FlashRouters Can Help
Not only do we ensure that our devices are loaded up with advanced security features by flashing them with DD-WRT, the most popular open-source router firmware, we also make them extremely VPN-friendly.
Subscribe to any VPN on our supported VPN service provider list and we’ll send your new router with your VPN fully installed. Save yourself the hassle of muddling through a tricky VPN installation process.
We’re affiliated with most of the top VPN providers for global coverage, including fan favorites like:
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