It is a well-known fact that when it comes to on-demand video and entertainment services that can be streamed, Netflix is the king of the pack. There is basically no other competitor out there that can begin to even dream of matching their versatile and high-quality content.
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However, all this talk of premium offering appears to be rubbished by their on-going policy with regards to content distribution, restriction, and exclusivity. This is because their wonderful services are actually not available to all and sundry. And for any resident of Asia or the Philippines, this is actually true.
While Netflix has continued to state that they are keen on expanding their current services to all parts of the globe, there is still some restrictions being placed to viewers from some parts of the world, including the Philippines. And for this reason watching Netflix in the Philippines for now is still a mirage.
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Why It Is Not Possible to Watch Netflix in the Philippines
For any visitor to the Philippines, I think the greatest shock is to observe that in spite of the modernity, sophistication, advanced technology, and advanced state of affairs and development in the Asian nation, there is currently no Netflix in the Philippines.
This would make you want to ask if a business-savvy and successful company like Netflix forgot to include the Philippines in their plans when they were expanding to places like Latin America, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The answer is NO, Netflix did not forget the Philippines in their expansion plans. Unlike the other subsidiaries of Netflix like Netflix UK, and Netflix Canada there is presently no Netflix Philippines.
The reason for this is that the movie and entertainment content production companies have signed complex and somewhat confusing licensing agreements with streaming services like Netflix which bars them from making these content available in certain regions of the world. And this is beyond the fact that visitors to and residents of these regions are actually willing to register/subscribe and pay for these content.
Frankly speaking, it really does not make any business sense to me on why these companies choose to behave this way. What is for sure is that it is not Netflix’s choice to exclude the Philippines and other regions from accessing their juicy content. Their hands are virtually tied in the issue.
How to watch Netflix in the Philippines
We have already established that there is officially no Netflix in the Philippines because, well, Netflix does not make its content available to any user geographically located in the Philippines. And trust me, Netflix has sophisticated systems that can track and detect precisely where any user is. And once they detect that you are in the Philippines, they would instantly block your access to their website.
And it does not matter that you might have a valid Netflix account with an up-to-date subscription in the United States. The fact is that once you travel to the Philippines and try to log onto Netflix the no familiar message: “Sorry, Netflix is not yet available in your country” would pop up on your device.
So, how do you watch Netflix in the Philippines? Easy, there are now ways of accessing this on-demand video streaming service not just only from the Philippines but from other parts of the world as well. I am going to cover three of those methods in this article and I believe that you would soon be on track to start enjoying Netflix in the Philippines.
- Virtual Private Network – popularly known as VPN, a Virtual Private Network works by acting as a middleman between your device and Netflix. How it does this is to mask your IP Address and make it appear as if you are located in the US by giving you a US-based IP address. A VPN has servers that are remotely located all over the world and when you sign up with them they effectively create the impression of your being located in any region of the world that you might select. So, for residents in the Philippines, Netflix would be made to believe that they are situated in the US. When it comes to VPNs, the best service I would recommend to users in the Philippines is HideMyAss Pro. Their services are superb and they have convenient plans that can suit any user in the Philippines. In the alternative, our list of top 10 VPN providers can be patronized.
- DNS Proxy – do not feel intimidated by this term. A DNS Proxy works in the same way as a VPN. However, the major difference between them is that a DNS Proxy does not encrypt your data which means that they are not as secure as VPNs. They connect you directly to Netflix from their US-based servers and as a result are pretty fast and effective. But a note of caution is necessary here: while they are not known to be as secure as VPNs, the free versions of DNS proxies are even the worst and can sometimes generate problems for your devices. So, if you really must go for DNS Proxy as a way to watch Netflix in the Philippines you must go for the paid versions.
- Tor – this method is actually a free method of masking your identity online. However, it is well known that your entire traffic and browsing activity is not completely masked while using Tor. This means that it is as good as using a free version of the DNS Proxy.
What is the best option for watching Netflix in the Philippines
If you were to ask me, I think the best option is to go for the VPN services. Yes, I agree that of the three options listed above, they are undoubtedly the most expensive, with the least costly being the DNS Proxy and Tor. However, these days’ identity security and protection is a recurring issue for users of internet-based services like streaming, browsing, and so on. In order to be safe and secure, you would have to sacrifice some money.
However, the benefits far outweigh the costs of such an initiative. And for someone trying to watch Netflix in the Philippines this cannot be further from the truth.
