Unblock YouTube at School
How is it that your day begins? Certainly not with having to unblock YouTube? It could be that you watch your favorite motivational speaker’s latest video whose channel you have subscribed to. Or it could be that you are in the mood to watch some funny clips such as hilarious haircut falls. As a student, you could also be viewing tutorials and lessons about the topic that you have an exam.
YouTube brings to all of our disposals content worth billions of hours. It is your one-stop video platform for both education and entertainment, but you knew about it already. Whom are we kidding? Explaining YouTube?
However, if there is one thing all of us hate is the following message:
Video unavailable: The uploader has not made this video available in your country.
Imagine the frustration, as a user, you have to go through. We can totally relate. Just like yourself, we consume YouTube content as well, rely on it, and in the process, learn.
Understanding the Rationale Behind YouTube Blocking
Before attempting to unblock YouTube, it’s essential to understand why many schools block it in the first place. Educational institutions often impose such restrictions to:
a. Minimize distractions
Schools want to create an environment conducive to learning, and YouTube’s vast content library can easily divert students’ attention from their studies.
b. Ensure internet bandwidth management
With limited internet bandwidth in schools, access to streaming sites like YouTube can slow down the overall network performance, affecting everyone’s online experience.
c. Prevent inappropriate content
YouTube contains an immense amount of user-generated content, some of which may not be suitable for the school setting, potentially violating content guidelines and policies.
Can You Unblock YouTube at School?
Of course, you can. You can unblock YouTube at school, or anywhere else for that matter. Read on how to bypass YouTube restrictions.
1. Unblock YouTube Using a VPN
The best way to unblock YouTube in your region is by subscribing to a decent VPN plan. VPNs are a great means of guarding your privacy and safety online. In addition, they provide you with access to blocked content such as YouTube.
If you are in a region where government censorship is in place, a VPN will not only allow access to YouTube but will do so by protecting you against government surveillance agencies. A VPN does it by masking your IP address and in the process, make your online location appear from elsewhere in the world.
Follow these quick steps to connect:
- Subscribe to Ivacy VPN
- Download and install the app on your preferred device on which you wish to access YouTube
- Open the app and choose from among the list of servers. Select the server in the region which you are seeking to unblock.
- In case you are at work and want to unblock YouTube, or unblock it at school, connect to the server which is the closest to your actual location.
- You are good to go. Enjoy as many YouTube videos as you want!
2. Unblock YouTube Through a Proxy
There is a similarity to unblocking websites/content through a VPN and proxy. However, in the case of the latter, it offers slim to zero reliability. Through a unblock YouTube proxy, you are able to bypass certain firewalls such as when you are on a school or work network.
It modifies your online location and just any VPN would, makes you appear elsewhere than your original location. But since a VPN, in addition to masking your IP address offers encryption of your network/data, which a proxy does not. This leaves your connection vulnerable to phishing attacks and malware.
Proxy lets you connect in three major ways. You can either visit a proxy website, download a browser addon/extension such as Ivacy for Chrome and Firefox or manually configure a proxy to connect. The first among the three is perhaps the easiest method of unblocking websites like YouTube.
3. Unblock YouTube by Modifying the URL
This is a pretty simple trick and you can use it to unblock YouTube. In this case, it is imperative that the network administrator has blacklisted the website by entering the URL as http://www.youtube.com and so, if that is the case then you are in luck. Simply, type https://www.youtube.com instead and you are good to go!
4. Unblock YouTube by Directly Downloading Videos
You can also unblock YouTube by directly downloading YouTube videos from any number of video downloading sites/apps available online. It enables you to view the unblock YouTube videos offline bypassing the hassle of waiting to unblock YouTube first and then accessing the desired content.
This method may prove to be a cumbersome job for most, however, it is equally effective. If you are not known to be patient then this method might not be for you as it is a time taking procedure. Otherwise simply copy-paste the video’s URL into the downloader and the download will commence for offline viewing later.
5. Unblock YouTube Using Tor Browser
Tor Browser is a secure browser that by default encrypts your traffic and renders your presence on the web, anonymous. Coupled with reliable VPN software, you can get an ultimate experience of online privacy, security and well, unblock YouTube among other web services.
6. Unblock YouTube using Dedicated Browser Extensions for Free
You will be pleased to know many prominent browsers offer free extensions that can unblock YouTube. For instance, Google Chrome has Unblocker for YouTube. Similarly, browsers like Firefox and Opera have their extensions for unblocking YouTube. Just make sure you go through reviews for potential browser extensions to determine whether they are worth your time or not.
7. Use YouTube Alternatives
If unblocking YouTube proves difficult, explore alternative platforms that may not be blocked at your school. Platforms like Vimeo, TED-Ed, and Khan Academy offer educational videos that can supplement your learning without violating any restrictions.
8. Download Videos for Offline Viewing
Another option to access YouTube content without the need for an internet connection is to download videos for offline viewing. Various apps and websites allow you to save YouTube videos on your devices, enabling you to watch them during school hours without requiring access to YouTube.
Why Are YouTube Videos Blocked?
There could be a number of reasons why YouTube might be blocked in your region/school/workplace.
Censorship by the government
YouTube has a long history of getting banned or blocked in different countries for political, cultural, and/or based on religious grounds. Since the platform is open to any or all kinds of content (although, there are guidelines regulating that) to some parties that content may prove unacceptable and offensive.
Governments, therefore tend to shut down YouTube services in that region/country because allowing that content to float unchecked can lead to the spread of disinformation or can even turn into situations where social unrest is feared.
To boost employee productivity
This one is pretty simple. If you are busy watching YouTube videos at your workplace then when are you going to work? It is a fair point that employers make and thus, ban YouTube so that employees can focus more on work rather than “waste hours” watching videos.
To increase student focus on studies
Studies are crucial and at school, the administration might deem it fit to ban YouTube so as to prevent students from procrastinating when instead they should be focused on studying hard and scoring good grades.
All of the above reasons are plausible. What people, however, fail to realize is that YouTube videos (and as previously mentioned) can provide helpful information and tutorials about a particular subject whether it is a project you are working on in your office or an essay you are prepping yourself for to write on.
In Conclusion
To sum up, using a VPN like Ivacy can be a real winner when you wish to access YouTube content safely, unblock Disney Plus, or any geo-restricted content. Not just that but it offers protection against prying eyes and hackers that may get a hold of your sensitive information. So that now you know, what are you waiting for? Subscribe today!
