Are you an Indian living outside of India who wants to watch Netflix India, or someone who lives in another country but is aware of the benefits Netflix India provides and wishes to take advantage of them? As you may have noticed, accessing Netflix India with your local internet connection is impossible.
To begin, India is one of the cheapest countries for Netflix, with the basic plan costing only $2.34 per month. Furthermore, many titles for which Netflix only has licensing rights in Asia are available on Netflix India with English subtitles. However, how can we watch Netflix India when licensing agreements prevent us from doing so?
There is no cause for concern. You can watch Netflix India even if you are not in India by following a few simple steps. I’ll show you how to change your IP address using a VPN service. You can watch Netflix India from anywhere in the world if you have an Indian IP address.
Analysis: We can watch the majority of Netflix’s Asian-exclusive content with English subtitles on Netflix India. However, due to licensing agreements, Netflix India is only available to users in India. Our local IP address is crucial here. Netflix uses our IP address to determine our general geographical location and which catalog to offer us.
Solution: To watch Netflix India, we must have an Indian IP address. We will use a VPN service to replace our local IP address with an Indian IP address. VPNs provide us with a protected network connection when using public networks. When we connect to a VPN server, our internet traffic is encrypted, and we get a new IP address based on the location of the server. In short, we can watch Netflix India from anywhere in the world by connecting to a VPN server in India.
A quick guide to using a VPN to watch Netflix India:
- Visit ExpressVPN’s official website; it has servers in India.
- Click on the “Get ExpressVPN” button and select a plan that works for you.
- Enter your email address and choose your preferred payment method.
- Once your payment has been processed, ExpressVPN will email you an activation code.
- Go to the “Products” menu on the ExpressVPN home page, then download and install the VPN app for your device.
- Launch the app and sign in with the activation code you received via email.
- Connect to an available server by searching for “India” in the “VPN Locations.”
Netflix will recognize you as an Indian user once your connection is established. As a result, you will be able to watch Netflix India from anywhere in the world.
Although our quick VPN guide is fairly simple, I am aware that someone using a VPN for the first time and unfamiliar with the concept of geo-restriction will have many questions. But I will not abandon you with these unanswered questions. In the sections that follow, I’ll go into detail about why we can’t freely access content on a paid platform and how VPNs can help us solve this problem.
Understanding Netflix geo-restriction
First and foremost, let us attempt to comprehend why we are subject to geo-restriction. While Netflix is a global platform, content demand varies by country due to differences in culture and society. As a result, when licensing content, Netflix chooses to limit the scope of the deals to a region or country. In other words, we can only access the catalog available in the country we are in with our Netflix subscription.
We can gain a better understanding of the situation if we use an example. Assume we’d like to watch Naruto on Netflix. As we explained in our article, all seasons of Naruto: Shippuden is available on Netflix India with English subtitles. However, Naruto is not available on Netflix in my country, and when I search for the series in the library, nothing comes up.
The unfortunate reality is that there may be millions of users who are unaware that Netflix offers different catalogs in different countries. The only explanation provided by Netflix on the subject is a few sentences in the platform’s terms of service.
- The statement: “You may access the Netflix content primarily within the country in which you have established your account and only in geographic locations where we offer your subscription plan and have licensed such content. The content that may be available will vary by geographic location and will change from time to time.”
At the very least, we now understand what geo-restriction is and what causes it. Furthermore, the solution to the problem is quite simple.
Watch Netflix India with a VPN
I mentioned that in order to watch Netflix India, we needed an Indian IP address. IP addresses are the identifiers that allow data to be sent between network devices; they contain location information and make devices available for communication. Netflix decides which catalog to show to which user based on the user’s IP address. Using a VPN service is the simplest and safest way to change our IP address.
VPNs are useful tools that help users improve their internet privacy and security. A VPN replaces your IP address to make it appear as if you’ve connected to the internet from a different location, and your new IP address reflects the VPN server’s location.
So, we simply connect to an Indian VPN server to replace our local IP address with an Indian IP address. This way, we can watch Netflix India from anywhere in the world.
Choosing the best VPN for Netflix India
Okay, we’ll use a VPN service, but will any VPN service prove helpful? Unfortunately, the answer is no, because we require a VPN server in India. This is due to a law passed by the Indian government in 2022.
The law requires VPN providers in India to collect and store user data for at least five years. Such an imposition clearly contradicts the purpose of VPN services and is unacceptable to businesses. As a result, many VPN companies have closed their operations in the country or sought alternative solutions, such as using virtual servers.
Despite the fact that it is difficult to find a VPN service that still works in this mess, I was able to get an Indian IP address by using ExpressVPN. ExpressVPN allows us to connect to India via the United Kingdom or Singapore. My most recent speed test resulted in a download speed of 29,4 Mbps with the ExpressVPN India server. This may not be a lightning-fast connection, but given the 25 Mbps connection speed required to watch Netflix in HD quality, it should suffice.
To use this service, please follow the steps below:
- Visit ExpressVPN’s official website.
- Fill in your email address and select a subscription plan.
- Use your preferred payment method to complete the transaction.
Once your payment has been processed, ExpressVPN will send you an email with an activation code. Please save that code as we will need it in the following steps.
VPN app installation
It’s time to download and install the ExpressVPN app on the device we’ll be using to watch Netflix India.
- Return to the official ExpressVPN website.
- From the “Products” menu, locate and download the VPN app for your device.
- Install the VPN app on your device.
Note: To avoid future issues, give the ExpressVPN app all of the permissions it requires during installation.
Connecting to the India VPN server
This is the last step. With ExpressVPN, getting an Indian IP address is as simple as a few mouse clicks.
- On your device, launch the ExpressVPN app.
- Log in with the activation code you received via email.
- Click the three dots to open the “VPN Locations” menu.
- Search for “India” and connect to the available server.
A green check mark will appear on your ExpressVPN icon once the connection is established. This means that your connection is now secure, and any website or platform that analyzes your IP address will recognize you as an Indian user.
Streaming Netflix India
Let’s see how Netflix reacts to our new Indian IP address.
- Ascertain that you are connected to the ExpressVPN India server.
- Launch the Netflix app or visit the Netflix website at https://www.netflix.com/.
As shown above, we can now enjoy Netflix India without the worry of geo-restrictions. Using this method, you can access Netflix India from anywhere in the world and enjoy many titles with English subtitles that Netflix only has licensing rights to in Asia.
Furthermore, Netflix India isn’t the only Netflix catalog available through ExpressVPN. The company runs thousands of high-speed servers in 94 countries, and you can connect to any of them to access various Netflix catalogs. Netflix Slovakia, for example, currently has the largest content library. You can also watch new seasons of popular anime on Netflix Japan.
Summing up the “Streaming Netflix India with a VPN” article
Although not the largest of the Netflix catalogs, Netflix India is a particularly advantageous catalog in terms of language options. However, we cannot use our local IP address to watch Netflix India unless we are physically located in India.
As previously stated, it is possible to get around this restriction by using a professional VPN service. All we need to do is connect to a VPN server located in Indian data centers to get an Indian IP address. When we open Netflix after connecting to an India VPN server, we can watch Netflix India from anywhere in the world.
Because of the most recent law passed by the Indian government, ExpressVPN is currently the only VPN service that allows me to get an Indian IP address. In addition, if different VPN companies start offering servers that work in India in the future, I will update the article to include additional options.
I’ve been a translator for many years. During this time, geo-restriction has always been the most problematic issue in the many countries I’ve visited. I’m here to tell you about my experience.