Do you want to watch your friends playing your favorite games? Is Twitch blocked by your ISP or by the company network? Find out what you need to unblock Twitch.
Table of Contents
What is Twitch?
Twitch is a social video platform and community for gamers, video game culture, and the creative arts. Millions of visitors gather every day on Twitch to watch and talk about video games.
What can you stream or watch on Twitch.tv?
- Games – All kinds of games and genres (League of Legends, Hearthstone, Dota 2, Overwatch, Counter-Strike, World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Dark Souls, Minecraft, Dishonored, Civilization VI and many more).
- User-generated content – Content created by the community.
- Esports – Competitive gaming.
- Events – Conventions from all over the World.
- Twitch Creative – For artists to showcase the creative process.
Why is Twitch blocked?
The access to Twitch.tv is not geo-restricted, meaning that the site itself does not block users based on their location. However, there are governments (in China or Iran) that prevent access to the Twitch site for Internet users in their countries.
Why? Because they can not control or censor the live streaming user-generated content in an efficient way. A blockage is a form of Internet censorship, and it is implemented using country-level firewalls. The good news is that it can be easily bypassed.
Also, for productivity reasons, Twitch can be blocked at work, in the company network. At schools, Twitch may be blacklisted for bandwidth savings.
Keep reading to find out how to bypass Twitch ban, how to get Twitch unblocked at school, and watch Twitch without restrictions.
How to unblock Twitch?
To unblock Twitch, you need a VPN service that encrypts the traffic such that the ISP or the company firewall is not able to identify the source of your browser requests. To be more precise, by using a VPN the fact that you are accessing Twitch remains private and your real IP address remains hidden.
However, using a VPN is not enough. Some VPN protocols may also be blocked. Also, some VPN servers (and their IP addresses) may be on the government blacklisted, and the traffic that comes through them is blocked. Thus, you need to choose carefully.
Another criterion when you choose your VPN provider for unblocking Twitch is the speed. To access Twitch content, you need a good VPN connection. There are several factors that may affect your VPN speed. So, pay extra attention to this one.
My advice is to get a trial account (if possible) or to first purchase a monthly account to see if the service provides the speed that you need. All providers have a money-back guarantee.
VPN providers to unblock Twitch
I have compiled a shortlist of services that you may try for accessing Twitch unblocked. You should know that there is no universal solution. The service that is right for some may not be good enough for your and vice versa. Here are the VPN services that I recommend:
| VPN for Twitch | Price |
| HideMyAss | from $11.52/month |
| ibVPN (offers trial – read our full ibVPN review) | from $4.95/month |
| NordVPN (30-day money-back guarantee) | from $10.95/month |
| IPVanish | from $10/month |
| PureVPN | from $9.95/month |
| ExpressVPN | from $12.95/month |
| Private Internet Access – Read our PIA review | from $12.95/month |
Conclusion
If you are a gamer, then you are probably using Twitch streams all the time to watch others playing your favorite game or even to stream your play. What to do if your ISP or company block Twitch.tv? Use a VPN for Twitch!
Do you use Twitch.tv? What games do you play the most? Is Twitch blocked in your location? How do you unblock Twitch? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Here is the easy way to do it: create a trial for ibvpn, if it works purchase a subscription. If not, go for nord. They have great prices these days.