If you live in India or are visiting then there are many internet services that you cannot view online, for example, you won’t be able to access Netflix US version, BBC iPlayer, also internet radio Pandora & Hulu movie & TV show online streaming service. Also, because in India there are different regulations than other countries so you may want to hide your presence, making yourself online anonymous. To do so all you need is a VPN service, it will allow you to hide your IP address which will make your internet identity private and it will also encrypt your data and let you access all geo-restricted site (including mentioned earlier) while being in India.
There are many VPN companies to choose from, it may be if you aren’t exactly familiar with what is a VPN and how it can help you. Thus, we have created a list of best VPN providers for your consideration. You can look at our VPN comparison page and read VPN reviews before you sign up.
In this article we have compiled best VPN services for India’s users. These services will allow you to access all internet content you wish to. Take a look at our recommendations and read a summary of what is a VPN for a better knowledge of what it can do.
Summary of India’s freedom on the net
According to the Freedom House latest report, in India there are more than 302 million internet subscribers, it has the third largest number in the world (leading by China and United States). However, it’s not even close to being the highest by internet penetration, India only reaches 24 percent of it’s population in March 2015 which is 4 percent higher than a year ago.
Another interesting fact is that mobile penetration is a lot higher, in March 2015 its mobile internet users reach 969 million subscribers which is about 77 percent of the whole India’s population.
Restrictions on Internet connectivity
Although India’s government doesn’t regularly restrict tools and protocols that allow personal communication over the internet, however, it can block some ICT network usage and connectivity that could be considered offensive. For example, one of the most recent cases was in September 2014 when there were serious clashes between Hindus and Muslims that resulted in local police ordering internet and mobile service providers to block all 2G, 3G, SMS and MMS services for several days.
Content blocking
Blocking of websites and digital content is stated under the legislation act called Information Technology Rules (“Blocking Rules”). It permits the government to direct any agency to block access to any online content and information when it is in the interest of:
- sovereignty and integrity of India
- security of the state
- defence of India
- friendly relations with foreign states and public order
Indian courts can also regulate restrictive and blocking of the content without government permission.
Between June 2014 and May 2015, website blocks requested by Indian government affected even a few major platforms like Vimeo and Google Docs.
Our Top VPNs for India use
ExpressVPN – has servers in over 100 cities, including India. With Express VPN connection you can hide your location, hide IP, it’s good for data encryption and online anonymity. You can use ExpressVPN also on your mobile devices, iPhone and Android phones.
VyprVPN – it has over 700 servers, including in India (Mumbai), for safer internet surfing and unblocking of online content you can also connect to servers in Hong Kong, US, UK and many other countries.
SaferVPN – has more than 150 servers, you will find servers in countries like India, USA, Hong Kong and the UK. Using Safer VPN you will have a great speed experience, it is easy to use, it doesn’t keep logs and it offers multiple protocols like (OpenVPN, IKEv2, L2TP/IPSec and PPTP to fit your needs).
PureVPN – has servers in 141 countries, which will allow you to connect to servers in most of the Asian countries including India (it has a server located in Delhi), Hong Kong and Singapore. You can also connect to many USA locations and everywhere in Europe. PureVPN you can use on your computer as well as on your Android and iPhone mobile devices.
StrongVPN – has servers in 44 cities, however, it doesn’t have any server in India. Using Strong VPN you can connect to servers in other locations instead (like Hong Kong, United States, UK). It will allow you to choose one of the following protocols PPTP, L2TP, SSTP, OpenVPN, IPSec.
IronSocket – has servers in 36 countries, which will allow you to connect to servers in India and few other Asian places like Hong Kong, Jakarta, Bangkok, Manila, Seoul and more. It will allow you to easily unblock websites like Netflix, Hulu and Pandora and provide you with an encrypted connection which will give you full online security.
HideMyAss – is one of the most recognised VPN providers, with servers in 190 countries. With HideMyAss VPN you will be able to connect to servers almost anywhere in the world which will give you access to any content that you wish to view.
IPVanish – have over 400 servers and it includes countries like India (with four servers in Indore, Mumbai and New Delhi) you can also access servers in Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and most of the western countries.
Buffered – is a newer VPN service provider, but it has servers in 26 countries and it keeps adding new ones. Buffered VPN doesn’t have any servers in India, but you can connect to servers in major markets like the United States, UK, Canada and Singapore in Asia.
Private Internet Access – has servers nearly 4000 servers in 24 countries. You can connect to servers either in India or countries like USA, UK, China, Russia and many more. This VPN provider gives you secure VPN account, you can choose from following VPN protocols PPTP, OpenVPN and L2TP/IPSec and it allows you to connect to 5 devices simultaneously.
Conclusion
Censorship in India on the internet can be . India’s government tends to block online content without any notifications. To avoid frequent restrictions get a VPN account with some of the best VPN providers and get around content blockages and keep your online identity anonymous.