Based on the BitTorrent technology, Popcorn Time is a ground-breaking streaming service dedicated to bringing the latest in TV shows and movies. Offering a slick user interface and boasting an integrated media player, this streaming service is like Netflix in numerous ways.
However, it’s always been a cause of debate among users, with some users always wondering if they should still use a VPN for the service. The truth is that, due to many restrictions, you may need a Virtual Private Network to access the service.
In fact, there’re many reasons why you need to use a Virtual Private Network for the service, especially if you’re looking to stay out of legal troubles. Popcorn Time is a service that’s devoted to streaming online video content for free, which means the majority of the content available on the service is under copyright material.
Do I Need a VPN for Popcorn Time?
As we said previously, there are many reasons you need a good Virtual Private Network. Not only does it protect you from being tracked, but it also ensures you stay secure and safe online. As soon as you’re connected to a Virtual Private Network, a new IP address will be assigned to you.
Of course, this is determined by the server or region you’ve selected prior. So, your real IP address is basically masked with an IP address in another region. So, you can easily pretend to be where you are not.
On the flip side, the additional advantage of using a Virtual Private Network is that it will give you unrestricted internet access. Because you are capable of connecting to any number of servers from various regions, you can get access to geo-restricted content that you can’t access on a normal day.
In this age, geo-blocks are a sad reality, but you can get past them with the help of a Virtual Private Network like ExpressVPN. If you can’t afford a premium provider like this, you can test it with a free VPN like Windscribe.
Is A Popcorn Time VPN Safe?
Since you now know for sure that you need to use a Virtual Private Network for Popcorn Time, we understand if you’re wondering if it’s safe.
If you choose a good provider like ExpressVPN, you’ll find out that there’s actually nothing to worry about. Thanks to the provider’s strict adherence to its no-logging policy, they won’t store or retain any of your internet traffic.
In addition, access to your account will be limited only to you, which means there is no third party that will be accessing your account without your permission.
There is also no cause for alarm if you’re more bothered about impediments regarding the service itself. The best providers like ExpressVPN often come with premium features like an internet kill switch, IPv6 leak protection, and military-grade AES 256-bit encryption.
These features make sure you stay anonymous, secure, and have real internet freedom, regardless of where you are.
Even if you live in the United Kingdom, you could check out our selection of the best VPNs in the UK for guidance.
Does Popcorn Time Become Slow When Using VPN?
Largely, this has to do with your connection speed and the provider you’re using. According to experts, using a poor provider can negatively affect your streaming experience.
Therefore, you need to ensure that you choose a service with lightning-fast download speeds like ExpressVPN in order not to face any streaming lags.
Besides, any good service will conceal your IP address to ensure that you stay anonymous from your Internet Service Provider. If not, slow speeds issues you’re facing may be down to your ISP throttling your speeds. So, be wise and choose only the best service.
The Best VPNs for Popcorn Time
It is one thing to know for sure that you need a Virtual Private Network, but it’s another thing to know the right provider to choose. To help take out the guesswork from your selection, we’ve reviewed the top three providers for you.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN is always the number one VPN in every category, and it comes out on top here as well, albeit unsurprisingly. Apart from working exceptionally with Popcorn Time, this provider also allows torrenting and lets you access different streaming websites like Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and more.
Furthermore, this provider offers you exceptionally high speeds for streaming and downloading, with complete privacy and security. Apart from being incredibly fast, the service is also very easy to use. Speaking of ease of use, it’s worth noting that it runs responsive 24/7 live chat support.
This means that you can always turn to the agents whenever you encounter an issue.
In terms of security, it provides protection against IPv6 and DNS leaks, and by default, it uses military-grade AES 256-bit encryption and supports OpenVPN and Lightway – the two best VPN protocols currently available.
Plus, it offers an excellent feature that it calls the Network Lock. Basically, this feature works the same way as the Kill Switch, thereby increasing your security.
All IPs are shared with this VPN, which means you can connect and blend with hundreds of other users. It’s also worth mentioning that this company is based in the British Virgin Islands, which means there are no compulsory data retention laws.
With this provider, your privacy is in safe hands as the company doesn’t even keep or monitor your traffic.
ExpressVPN is our top pick for Popcorn Time. While it’s not the cheapest option on the market, it offers you a 30-day money-back guarantee and three months free on the 12-month plan. In our opinion, this more than makes it up for the price tag.
- Doesn’t keep logs.
- Solid encryption.
- Excellent client support.
- High speeds.
- Effective security measures.
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- It’s not the cheapest option.
NordVPN
With its wide server network, impermeable security, and outstanding all-around performance, NordVPN is one of the best providers around. Apart from having a vast network of servers that consists of more than 5,200 servers in around 60 locations, it also offers decent connection speeds.
While it’s not as fast as some of its rivals, the speeds should work to your advantage.
In terms of security and privacy, this provider performs excellently as it offers protection against DNS and IPv6 Leaks. Not only that, but it also boasts a built-in Kill Switch, which is a feature that helps to automatically cut off internet connection if you lose your VPN connection.
On top of that, the provider offers some designated servers for streaming, which makes it a good choice for torrenting.
Apart from being a good option for Popcorn Time, the service also unblocks streaming sites such as Hulu, BBC iPlayer, Amazon Prime Video, and Netflix. Plus since the company is based in Panama, there are no compulsory data retention laws.
Therefore, the company doesn’t log or monitor records of your internet traffic.
Furthermore, it allows you to connect to up to 6 devices at the same time. Besides, all the servers use shared IPs and also offer high encryption standards to users. Not to talk about the company’s excellent client support, which includes a 24/7 live chat feature.
However, the 1-month plan is quite expensive, so you may want to keep that in mind when making your decision. After all, subscribing to a long-term plan always leads to much bigger savings.
- Wide server network.
- Excellent security features.
- Excellent client support.
- It’s a good choice for streaming.
- Ideal for torrenting.
- Doesn’t keep logs.
- Not as fast as some of its rivals.
- It’s quite expensive for its short-term plans.
CyberGhost
With its anonymous torrenting mode that’s ideal for torrenting users, CyberGhost is one of the best providers for Popcorn Time. Like NordVPN, this VPN is also not the fastest option around, but it offers decent speeds that should be enough to enjoy buffer-free streaming.
In addition to that, it offers a wide network coverage of 7,400+ servers, which is ideal for unblocking geo-blocked websites.
For security, it uses military-grade AES 256-bit encryption alongside OpenVPN and WireGuard protocols, which ensures that all your activities are secure and safe from snooping eyes. Besides, CyberGhost offers user-friendly and well-designed applications for the most popular platforms in the world.
Platforms like Android, iOS, Windows, and macOS are well catered for.
To ensure that your activities are never at risk of being exposed, the company adheres to a strict no-logging policy. This policy means that it doesn’t store data about the online activities of the users.
Therefore, even if a law enforcement agency comes knocking, there won’t be any users’ data to hand over to them.
Moreover, this VPN is easy to set up and use. If you encounter any problem, rest assured that the company’s 24/7 customer support will quickly come to your aid. Besides, it also offers unrestricted access to Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, and Amazon Prime Video.
Even better, CyberGhost is extremely cheap if you get a long-term plan with it. It comes with a 45-day money-back guarantee, in case you don’t like it, which, I think, is more than convenient.
- Solid security features.
- Offers excellent native clients for many platforms.
- Maintains a strict no-logging policy.
- Offers 24/7 client support.
- 7,400+ servers in the world
- Doesn’t work in China.
- Occasionally slow speeds.
Surfshark
Surfshark is an amazing provider from the British Virgin Islands that offers top-tier performance at an affordable price. Needless to say, it’s a great Popcorn Time VPN due to its rock-solid security and fast speeds.
It comes with 3,200 servers in 65 countries, and although the network isn’t the largest, you can expect tons of quality features. For the start, it has a NoBorder mode for bypassing censorship and if annoying ads block your way, CleanWeb is here to eliminate them.
Since watching Popcorn Time is actually torrenting, the speeds are very important. Thankfully, Surfshark does a good job at it, letting you stream your favorite movies buffer-free. Streaming-wise, you can also expect it to unblock Netflix US, Disney+, Hulu, and HBO GO.
One thing that makes Surfshark so special is the number of simultaneous connections – it’s unlimited! This means that you can protect every device you have using a single subscription! And given its 256-bit encryption and an automatic kill switch, you’ll get impeccable security.
All Surfshark’s servers support P2P/torrenting, so feel free to connect to them and enjoy one of the best VPN for Popcorn Time.
- Clear no-log policy.
- Very easy-to-use apps.
- P2P servers.
- Pricing is very cheap.
- Speeds can be inconsistent.
Anonymous VPN for Popcorn Time
If you’ve visited the Popcorn Time website recently, you probably know that this site promotes Anonymous VPN for this purpose. This lesser-known provider from Seychelles sounds like a good deal at a first glance – it has the word “anonymous” in its name and it’s from a VPN-friendly country.
But, not everything is as it seems. In our Anonymous VPN Review, you can see why. First of all, it’s quite expensive even on an annual basis, yet delivers poor performance. The speeds are very slow and it hardly manages to unblock streaming sites such as Netflix or BBC iPlayer.
Moreover, the provider lacks some crucial features, such as the live chat, so you can’t get the support at the same exact moment you need it. When compared to other premium providers, it simply isn’t up to the task.
Now, we don’t know exactly why the site promotes them but there are at least a dozen better options than Anonymous VPN.
Since enjoying Popcorn Time without a VPN isn’t a smart idea, we’ll give you another, much better option – ExpressVPN. It’s fast, secure, and allows torrenting on all servers, making it ideal for this scenario.
FAQ
Before wrapping it up, let’s answer some of the frequently asked questions:
? How to connect a VPN to Popcorn Time?
Connecting a VPN to Popcorn Time is very easy and you can do it in a few simple steps:
- Open the Virtual Private Network app.
- Open the server list.
- Choose the server from the country that’s closest to you to avoid losing too much speed.
- Click on the Connect button to establish a connection.
- Open the Popcorn Time app and enjoy streaming.
If you’re in doubt about which provider is the best for this purpose, we suggest using ExpressVPN.
? How safe is Popcorn Time without a VPN?
Well, it’s not very safe, we’re not going to lie. As we said, when streaming on this platform, it’s just like downloading torrents, and in many countries, that’s illegal.
To be precise, violating copyright is illegal and by streaming copyrighted content on Popcorn Time, you automatically violate copyrights.
Using this platform without a Virtual Private Network is just asking for trouble. We suggest you never do it without this service, except if you’re willing to pay a hefty government-imposed fine for copyright infringement.
✅ Should I use a VPN for Popcorn Time?
Yes, you should! Why? For the reasons mentioned above. It will hide your online identity, letting you enjoy this P2P activity anonymously. That way, your ISP can’t see what you’re doing, so it can’t file a copyright infringement claim against you.
? What is a VPN for Popcorn Time?
This is a great tool for staying safe and secure online, as well as preserving your online identity. A VPN for Popcorn Time is here to do exactly that – shield you from the watchful eyes of your ISP so that you can watch movies and series anonymously.
Since torrenting can get you into trouble, it’s important to use this service for this streaming platform. As soon as you enable it, it will wrap your internet connection in a so-called tunnel, making it invisible to your ISP or the government.
Do I need a VPN to watch Popcorn Time?
You absolutely do! Remember that Popcorn Time isn’t exactly the most “legal” way of streaming your favorite content in some countries. For that reason, using a Virtual Private Network to hide your online identity is always a good thing.
Does Popcorn Time VPN work?
If you’re thinking about using Anonymous VPN for Popcorn Time, you’ll be disappointed for the reasons we mentioned above. It has slow speeds that are bad for streaming, so you’ll often encounter buffering, which will hinder your streaming experience.
However, if a premium-grade provider such as ExpressVPN is used, it will surely work. Just connect to the server near your country and enjoy high speeds and impeccable security!
? How to create a VPN account for Popcorn Time Free?
Using a free VPN isn’t the smartest idea for this scenario. When you’re engaging in P2P activities, you want maximum security and privacy, which free solutions don’t offer. In fact, they’re highly likely to store your browsing history and sell it to third-party companies for revenue.
They can also hand over your data to the government if they request it, so you’ll be knee-deep in trouble. Instead, use a premium provider such as ExpressVPN. To create an account, simply click on the plan you want, enter your credentials, and follow the steps.
You’ll be able to complete it in a minute.
How to remove Popcorn Time VPN warning?
The VPN warning on this platform appears to signify that you need to use this service for safety and security purposes. As soon as you launch the movie or a TV show, it will automatically be removed.
Final Thoughts
With its commitment to bring the latest to you in movies and TV shows for free, it’s not surprising that Popcorn Time breaks copyright laws in the process. Consequently, you’ll need a good Virtual Private Network if you want to stream on the platform without getting into trouble.
Fortunately, we’ve recommended and reviewed the top providers for the task. While ExpressVPN is always the number one provider in the world, there’s no going wrong with any of the providers we’ve recommended.
Meanwhile, if you’d prefer Netflix to this streaming platform, you could check out the top 5 VPNs for Netflix that we tested for you and choose the most ideal one for Netflix.
A professional writer with a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Since his youngest age, he loves everything related to internet, technology, fitness, games, and dogs! He joined our team in order to bring his deep knowledge in security services, among which VPN is of course a key component.
