How To Access Blocked American Websites

Need your phone or computer to think you’re in the USA?  Trying to port your phone number to Google Voice? Or simply tired of seeing this error, “We’re sorry to say that due to the General Data Protection Regulation, visitors from your location are unable to browse our web store.”?  I so am!

Restricted access to US sites from abroad makes managing home country affairs really annoying. International bills to pay, gift giving for nieces and nephews, and even overseas party planning become impossible tasks.

If you are tired of denied access to US websites from the UK too, then read on to never see this error again!

How To Access Blocked American Websites

The new European data privacy laws are more strict than ever. And as a result of that, it seems as though some American institutions have decided to just close online doors to anyone located outside of the United States.

After my latest blocked website discovery, hobbylobby.com, I decided it was time to do something about this and help other American expats solve this problem.

Although I consider myself pretty scrappy on a computer, none of the options I tried worked. The idea of a VPN sounded like a hassle so I avoided it. Not to mention that I didn’t want to pay to access a website for simply paying a bill or a quick browse on Pottery Barn.

Instead, I tried other sneaky methods like changing latitude and longitude in Chrome’s developer tools, pinging IP addresses and even websites like hidemyass.com.

With no success, I turned to an American expat mom facebook group in the UK for help. Surely we could crowdsource answers to this growing problem post GDPR. And guess what? We did.

Based on the feedback from other expat moms in the UK, I downloaded, installed and tested three different unanimous approaches: browser-based, free VPN, and paid VPN.

This way you get the lowdown on what works best and save you the time and frustration googling solutions on your own.

3 Ways To Access Blocked American Websites

What description best describes you? 1, 2 or 3?

1 – I occasionally hit a blocked American website and it would be nice to try another way to reach it. It doesn’t bother me that I’m not using a VPN; I don’t need to be anonymous for the types of activities I do online.

Solution: Install Opera Browser & Set The Location To “The Americas”

Pros:

• Free
• Fairly easy install
• Easy-to-use
• The only browser with a built-in “VPN” solution, so if you are already an Opera browser user a switch of a setting is all you need to do.

Cons:

• It doesn’t reliably work for every blocked website. I had a 25% success rate out of 4 blocked websites tested: Hobbylobby.com, potterybarn.com, dickssportinggoods.com, and farmers.com.
• It’s not really a VPN, which is likely why some American websites remain blocked. Read more here about Opera’s technology and why it’s unreliable here.

If installing an easy-to-use browser is your preference and you don’t mind the inconsistent nature of disguising your location or not, then Opera might be the one for you. Otherwise, don’t waste your time and skip to the next two options.

2 – I need to occasionally access a website to keep up affairs I have in the USA, light shopping and other publications I enjoy reading. The benefits of VPN sound great but it’s not why I’m reading this post.

Solution: Install Tunnelbear Free VPN

Pros:

• Free 500mb of data a month, with the option to upgrade at any time. An annual subscription is one of the lowest on the market at $59.88.
• Easy install
• Easy-to-use

Cons:

• It’s not on TechRadar Pro’s Best VPNs for a Mac in 2019 list.
• 500mb is easy to get through fast if you don’t monitor your use.

To help evaluate if 500mb is enough bandwidth, consider your monthly mobile phone data usage. Will you use VPN for the same purpose as your mobile device or just a fraction on your Mac? Something to consider.

Either way, Tunnelbear allows you to easily upgrade bandwidth if you install for free and learn quickly that you need more bandwidth. Other than adding payment details, you’ve already done the work.

3 – I need to access websites to keep up affairs I have in the USA, stream American television shows I can’t get in the UK and shopping. Protecting my activities online is also important.

Solution: Install A Paid VPN, like Hotspot Shield

Other top VPN choices for Macs in the UK are Express VPN and CyberGhost. All three can be used for PCs and mobile devices. Get the full list of top VPN options here.

I chose Hotspot Shield to try over the others because it offers a 7-day free trial. Cancel the subscription before the 7th day and the subscription cancels before taking payment. The other VPN options take payment and then refund you within the designated trial window if you’re unsatisfied.

Pros:

• Easy-to-install
• Is considered 1 of the top 3 VPNs to use on a Mac

Cons:

• Not as easy-to-use as Tunnelbear. I had to spend time troubleshooting Hotspot Shield after installing it. All of the same websites that were blocked before the VPN was turned on remain blocked. To fix the issue I had to click Settings > Reinstall Profile.
• Slightly more expensive than Tunnelbear for the same outcome.

Problem Solved

After only a few hours of having all three options available on my Mac, Tunnelbear is my preferred option. Now I can keep up with light affairs from a distance without all the frustration. And you can too! Choose which option best describes you and take back control. Do what you need to do, wherever you are.

Looking for more resources to settle into British life?  Try these.

• How To Find A Youth Football Team in the UK
• American Cleaning Products Not In the UK: What to take with you and what to use instead
• Moving abroad?  Download the moving abroad checklist.  Created for expats, by an expat who moved abroad in less than 3 months.  All the steps in chronological order to get you organized to move from the USA to the UK.  Download today!

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