NB – Product links in this article are affiliate links. We may receive a commission on any referrals made at no extra cost to you.
PrivadoVPN are an up and coming, Swiss based VPN provider, but does their service actually work with popular streaming services in the UK such as Netflix, Amazon Video and Disney Plus?
This has been a confusing article to write, because the messages from PrivadoVPN themselves on streaming service access partially contradict my own experience. Basically, they say no, but I say (partially) yes!
PrivadoVPN provides mixed but largely positive outcomes with UK streaming services, working with Netflix, Amazon Video and BBC iPlayer in particular, but not with some other services.
Here’s a quick breakdown by major UK streaming service, when tested with a UK server:
- Netflix UK – works
- BBC iPlayer – works
- Amazon Video UK – works
- Disney Plus UK – doesn’t work
- 4 OD – works
- My 5 – doesn’t work
- ITV Hub – works
Therefore, performance really does vary when using UK PrivadoVPN servers, but you can sometimes get it to work with some UK streaming services.
Let’s look into what I found in more detail.
What PrivadoVPN Say About Accessing Streaming Services
What made this article quite confusing to write is that PrivadoVPN themselves pretty much say that their service DOESN’T support access to popular streaming sites.
When researching and reviewing the product, I did notice that they didn’t promote streaming service access at all on their site as one of their selling points. There were no “watch Netflix with us” promotional tags or feature boxes. It just wasn’t something they were pushing with their service.
This lead me to check their blog and support pages out a bit more, and on it I found this pretty clear cut statement from them:
“Our primary focus of the VPN service we provide is to keep your Internet activity private and un-monitored by your ISP. Many streaming content providers began a widespread blacklisting of VPN providers which has affected all of the most popular VPN providers, including us. All previous attempts we’ve made to allow the service to function again has been met with an immediate response from them by blocking us immediately after.
We apologize for any inconvenience that this may cause”.
PrivadoVPN Blog – see here
This would lead you to believe that PrivadoVPN won’t allow you to access streaming services, since it’s just not something they’re focused on, whilst streaming platforms like Netflix are themselves now aggressively blocking VPN usage.
But when I actually tested PrivadoVPN with some UK versions of streaming services, I actually found more mixed results, not always negative. Let’s look at what I found with each service.
Does PrivadoVPN Work With Netflix UK? (Tested)
Netflix are a really popular streaming platform worldwide, including the UK, so you’d think it’d be blocked. But using a UK server with PrivadoVPN, I was actually surprised. I managed to log into my UK Netflix account just fine, with no alerts or blocking.
PrivadoVPN does currently work with the UK version of Netflix. It is possible to log into your UK Netflix account using a PrivadoVPN UK server connection, without being blocked.
This is really surprising, but then take the positives as they come! Whilst it is true that streaming services are aggressively blocking VPN usage, it’s also true that there are hundreds of Premium VPN providers now, all with their own unique, dynamically changing VPN IP addresses, so it’s almost impossible to keep up and block them all.
Perhaps, for now, PrivadoVPN is a bit more a dark horse, slipping under the radar of some of the streaming services, as it’s a newer and currently lesser known service. Enjoy it while it lasts!
Does PrivadoVPN Work With BBC iPlayer? (Tested)
This was another surprise for me. I also managed to stream from BBC iPlayer just fine using PrivadoVPN!
PrivadoVPN does currently work with BBC iPlayer.
The speeds were good too, with the streaming moving along just fine with no buffering or lag, so performance was great here as well. I also successfully streamed several shows without any issues, so it wasn’t a one off fluke.
Does PrivadoVPN Work With Amazon Video UK? (Tested)
Amazon Prime Video is the third major UK streaming service with widespread use, and results were surprisingly positive here as well. I managed to access my account just fine using PrivadoVPN!
PrivadoVPN does currently work with the UK version of Amazon Video.
I managed to log in to my Amazon account, browse the Amazon Video section and watch shows from my Purchased library, without being blocked at all while using a PrivadoVPN UK server, so it currently looks good on this front as well. It also works with Amazon Video in the UK, at least for now.
Does PrivadoVPN Work With Disney Plus UK? (Tested)
It’s all been good so far, but now we get to the first failure. I couldn’t get PrivadoVPN to work in accessing Disney Plus in the UK.
It is not currently possible to access Disney Plus in the UK using PrivadoVPN. The website doesn’t load and instead displays a blank black screen when you try to access the service using a PrivadoVPN UK server.
You might be able to access the US version of Disney Plus, but the UK version is blocked for the time being.
Does PrivadoVPN Work With All 4 UK? (Tested)
When I tried Channel 4’s on demand streaming service, All 4, again the results were positive. I could access the website, login and stream content without any issue.
Again, it seems that PrivadoVPN’s servers are still working fine for the All 4 service, which is another great bonus.
Does PrivadoVPN Work With My 5 UK? (Tested)
Now we get to the last case, where there is a clear cut failure. When I tried accessing the My 5 on demand streaming service, it was definitely detected and blocked by the platform.
I got this message:
Therefore My 5 doesn’t currently work when using PrivadoVPN UK servers. You will need to use a different VPN or an unmasked, non-VPN connection from within the UK to access this service.
Does PrivadoVPN Work With ITV Hub UK? (Tested)
However – there’s more good news to finish off with, for Coronation Street users in particular, who like to get their fix of Corrie or other ITV shows on the ITV Hub on demand player. I set up my own account with the service and got good results when using PrivadoVPN to access it.
PrivadoVPN does currently work with the ITV Hub player in the UK. It is possible to log into your ITV Hub account using a PrivadoVPN UK server connection, and stream shows without being blocked.
This can be great for British expats living abroad in Spain for example, who might want to watch ITV shows, but would normally be blocked if they just use their unmasked IP address. If you get PrivadoVPN, their UK servers currently work fine for accessing ITV Hub, allowing you to stream shows on catch up from anywhere.
Strategy For Testing PrivadoVPN With Streaming Services
The success rate when I tested PrivadoVPN with UK streaming services was surprisingly good, with 5 out of the 7 British services I tried working fine when using their servers. Only Disney Plus GB and My 5 didn’t work.
However, my test results are only correct at the time of writing, and may not be true in a few months if streaming services detect and block the IP addresses that PrivadoVPN is currently using.
The bottom line is that like any VPN, PrivadoVPN may or may NOT work with any given streaming service, but here’s a good process for testing it out, wherever in the world you’re based:
- Try out PrivadoVPN’s excellent free version, with 10 GB of data. See if that gives you access to your favorite streaming platform. Free VPNs often don’t with streaming services, but it’s risk free because it’s cost free – see if you can get it to work.
- If it does work, or it doesn’t but you at least like the interface, try out their Premium Plan for $2.50/month. Be sure to try different server locations within the UK (PrivadoVPN offer London and Manchester servers), plus different VPN protocols (they offer several), to see if you can get it to work. With a bit of work, you might be successful.
- If it still doesn’t work, they have a 30 day money back guarantee, so you can always get a refund within the first month if you find it doesn’t work with your favorite streaming service. So it’s still effectively risk free.
- If you’re wanting a more top-end Premium VPN optimized for streaming, then ExpressVPN is our recommendation, though it’s more expensive.
Click here to check current pricing for PrivadoVPN.
