Best VPNs for Facebook

FacebookRegardless of how you may feel about the privacy (or lack thereof) that Facebook offers their members, it’s hard to argue with the popularity of the social network.  Facebook had over 1.4 billion users at the end of the first quarter.  That means nearly 1.5 billion people around the world are sharing their lives and often photos of their pets on Facebook.  Even with the popularity, there are places (work, school) and several countries that block access to Facebook.  A good VPN will remove the restrictions and let you enjoy time with your family and friends on Facebook.

RankVPN ServiceOur
Score
Server
Locations
Visit
1ExpressVPN9.8160Visit ExpressVPN
2NordVPN9.487Visit NordVPN
3Private Internet Access9.295Visit PIA
4CyberGhost9.0110Visit CyberGhost
5IPVanish8.873Visit IPVanish

All of the VPNs listed above will help you get around any network restrictions or government censorship to access Facebook and other social networking sites.  You will notice people using the same service to unblock Twitter, YouTube, and popular streaming services like Netflix and Hulu from anywhere in the world.

How to Access Facebook from Work or School

First, we’re assuming your work or school is blocking access to Facebook.  Otherwise, you can simply visit the site.  For those who fall under network restrictions at work or on campus (which is most of us nowadays) a VPN is the solution.  By connecting to a VPN server you will encrypt your data and circumvent any network restrictions.  Your traffic will resemble the secure communications you might expect when connected to a banking website.  Your work or school wouldn’t want to block SSL traffic.

Countries that Block Access to Facebook

There are several countries that block or otherwise censor Facebook.  Most of us think of the great firewall of China.  That’s certainly one culprit but there are plenty of others.  Let’s take a look at the countries that censor access to Facebook and other popular social networking sites.

Bangladesh – while Facebook isn’t currently blocked in Bangladesh the government is known to heavily monitor the site.  There has been talk of blocking the site.  Whether or not the site gets blocked in the future I would suggest using a VPN to access Facebook from Bangladesh.

China – this one is pretty self explanatory.  The great firewall of China blocks a large portion of the Internet including access to Facebook.  The Renren social network is a popular local alternative.  Even so there are an estimated half a million users relying on VPN or proxy services to access Facebook from mainland China.  I’d also like to mention that Facebook isn’t blocked from Hong Kong but you can decide for yourself whether or not you trust the Chinese government not to monitor your use.

Egypt – the Egyptian government blocked Facebook during the Arab Spring in 2011.  The site has been unblocked since but you never know what future actions the government might take given their history.

Germany – you might be surprised by the mention of Germany on our list.  We’ll start by saying that Germany is not blocking Facebook nor have they ever blocked the site.  However, they have considered disallowing events organized on Facebook.

Iran – back to the countries you might expect to make the list.  Iran blocks access to popular social networking sites including Facebook and Twitter.  They have been doing so since 2009 so I wouldn’t expect the censorship to end anytime soon.  You will definitely need a VPN to access Facebook from Iran.

North Korea – another country you might guess blocks Facebook.  When it comes to North Korea, their citizens are blocked from accessing the Internet all together.  There are a select few in the government that have access to the Internet but I doubt China would like them using the connection to check Facebook.

Russia – in 2014 Russia took the first step toward censoring Facebook.  The Russian government had Facebook block an event page that was intended to promote a political demonstration.

Syria – Facebook was first blocked in Syria in 2007.  We have read conflicting reports as to whether or not the site is currently blocked in Syria.  Regardless I would suggest using a VPN to access Facebook from Syria.

Tajikistan – the Tajikistan government will block access to Facebook when they feel users are slandering officials.

Vietnam – the Vietnamese government has tried unsuccessfully to block access to Facebook in the past.  Commercial locations like hotels and restaurants used VPN to grant users access to the site.  Since site blocking didn’t work so well, Vietnamese officials use laws to go after blogger’s with dissenting views.

How Does a VPN Unblock Facebook?

When you connect to a VPN server you will be assigned an IP address in that country.  From that point on your data will be sent over a secured connection.  For example, by connecting to a VPN server in the United States you can access sites as if you were located in the USA.  That’s true for Facebook and other popular social networking sites like Twitter and YouTube.  You can also access streaming media services like Netflix and Hulu from anywhere in the world by using a VPN.

You can view our list of the top 10 VPN services for more options but I highly recommend the services listed above for unblocking access to Facebook.  We selected them over other leading VPN services based on encryption levels, privacy (log policy), support for file sharing, availability of server locations in key locations, performance, reliability and price.  You will want a reliable, trustworthy VPN provider to help secure your online privacy.

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