Twitch is a subsidiary of Amazon and is a game enthusiast site that allows people to watch and stream digital video broadcast. Founded in 2011 and originally focused on streaming video games, it has gained so much popularity and has since expanded to include streaming music, some TV series, artwork creation and even talk shows. The service boasts of having over 2 million streamers every month. Interestingly, some users earn their own money through the twitch partner program.
Users can basically create content that is on demand which is then uploaded to their profiles. Twitch often creates streams from live events that are related to video games like comic-con. Some of the popular games streamed regularly on twitch includes Hearthstone, league of legends and call of duty.
Why is twitch blocked?
Although online gaming is very popular across the world, there is a downside as it is a main target of cyber-crimes. Any sites to do with video games are in most cases considered inappropriate for different networks and most organizations block them. In schools and workplace especially, it is highly likely that these sites are always blocked by the administrations.
Some of the reasons why twitch gets blocked by teachers or managers or administrators during school hours or work hours are;
- It could easily make students/workers lose concentration
- There would be reduced productivity if people are constantly on twitch
- Streaming videos on twitch uses a lot of bandwidth. This has a negative effect on the computer network’s performance.
For the gamers, this is unfortunate because since they cannot access this platform and hence definitely feel like they often miss out on some popular tournaments or releases.
Some of the reasons why twitch is blocked generally is because of the below;
- Network Blocks
Most organizations and schools that use internal networks always block live streaming sites. This is because these sites are deemed inappropriate in these places hence it is almost impossible to get these kind of sites unblocked in this environment.
- Geo-blocking
There are some countries that have high internet censorship. Because of this, most social media platforms including twitch are blocked. These countries block these sites because arguably they cannot be able to control the content that is in the sites. People located in these countries always feel unfortunate because they can barely access of twitch thanks to the imposed online blocks.
- IP bans
Twitch usually bans the IP addresses of users who infringe their terms of service. This is very common and unfortunately, this tends to affect the innocent people. This is because sometimes rogue hackers can use your connection or your roommates can violate the terms of service and the consequences could end up affecting you instead.
- ISP can restrict your twitch experience
Sometimes you will notice that twitch is not entirely blocked but you are constantly having problems streaming and loading. This is the case because your ISP is throttling twitch. This is again very common within institutions as they block twitch DNS servers.
If you are a dedicated gamer, these issues can be frustrating but the good news is that you can easily maneuver and still get to play your games.
How to get twitch unblocked
The only way for you to get blocked by twitch is if your computer‘s IP address can be identified. Since your IP address is like your digital fingerprint, it is very easy for twitch to know your location and know if you have been banned before.
There are two ways that offer similar outcomes you can use to unblock twitch;
- Using VPN
- Using a Proxy
- Using VPN
Using VPN is the best solution for you if you are looking to unblock twitch. While there are so many VPN providers in the market that claim to be the ideal solution to these streaming services, some obviously are better than others. Criteria to use to know which VPN is ideal for you include;
- Private policies-the VPN’s private policies have to be effective to keep your online activities hidden
- Connection speed- you need very fast connection speeds to ensure reliable and smooth streaming
- Encryption of strength and security-this is to ensure you are safe while streaming
- Size of the server network- you need a VPN that has many available servers as this means you have more content you can unlock from
- Bandwidth- you want a VPN that has no restriction on bandwidth because this means you can stream basically anything as many times as you wish
Based on the above criteria, there are quite a number of great VPNs that meet the standards. CyberGhost is one of the most ideal VPN provider to use to unblock twitch because it not only has fast connection speeds but it also has great size of server network meaning that you can be able to get more content you can unlock from all over the world. You can check CyberGhost review on VPNpro as it has highlighted everything you need to know about it and further convinces you why you should purchase it.
- Using a Proxy
Using proxy is a method you can use to unblock twitch if you cannot install programs. The advantage of using proxy is the fact that it is not only cheaper but it is also a bit faster compared to using VPN. The easier way to use proxy to block twitch is by going to google chrome extension store and installing it.
Once you have installed the app on your browser, all you need to do is to login with your credentials that you have purchased and you are all set.
Conclusion
Since twitch is an integral part of every gamer’s experience, they should be able to have access to it when they feel like. Using a great VPN will remove the restrictions and allow the gamer to be able to have access to their favorite sites and hence develop an intimate relationship with the gaming culture. You will need to get a trustworthy and reliable server such as CyberGhost to ensure that you use it continually without being denied access.