Amazon’s series of streaming devices — including the Fire TV, Firestick and Fire TV Cube — are getting increasingly popular among the millions of loyal Amazon customers. However, out of the box, they don’t deliver a secure internet experience.
Enter modern VPN services that let you stream your favorite shows and movies from anywhere while at the same time keeping your identity under the radar. After all, there is no good reason to reveal more personal information than you have to.
The following VPN services have been proven to bypass firewalls to let you access Amazon Prime Video as well as other popular services such as Netflix and Hulu. Also, they let you anonymously download files via BitTorrent, and will keep your privacy well-protected while you browse the web.
Some of these VPN services have dedicated apps for Amazon Firestick whereas others let you set up your router to securely connect to the internet. In either case, you benefit from a more secure experience.
Pros
Cons
- 5,000+ servers in the network
- Easy to use - install it and forget it
- One license is good for up to 6 devices
- Strict zero-logs policy
- 30-day money-back guarantee
- Chrome extension is just a proxy
Summary
Its network includes more than 6,200 servers spread across 111 countries, which directly translates into faster speeds. NordVPN is also very secure, relying on the strong 256-bit encryption combined with secure VPN protocols (OpenVPN, WireGuard, IKEv2/IPSec). But as a user, you get a seamless experience with all this technology "doing its thing" in the background.
NordVPN is well suited to pretty much every task you throw at it — whether it's accessing a banned site from some country that filters out the internet, torrenting, accessing streaming services, or just wanting to keep a low profile on the web. It also doesn't keep any logs.
We highly recommend NordVPN to anyone looking for reliable service.
Pros
Cons
- Feature-rich yet easy to use
- One of the best VPNs around
- Strong no-logging policy
- Reliable support you can reach 24/7
- Limited number of servers in Africa and the Middle East
- Kinda pricey
Summary
ExpressVPN has great desktop apps for Windows and Mac, mobile apps and browser extensions. Also, it is well suited for video streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer and others.
However, what makes it stand out is its ease of use. We can't emphasize this enough. One could tell a lot of time has been spent making sure even the advanced features are easily accessible. And we love it for that. Plus, let's not forget ExpressVPN's speed which tends to leave other services in the dust.
Pros
Cons
- It's super fast!
- Works with Netflix, BBC and others
- Easy to use apps, browser extensions
- You can try it for free!
- Some advanced features are not configurable
- Not the best for high-censorship countries
Summary
Furthermore, thanks to the availability of browser extensions - Hotspot Shield is also one of our top choices for Chrome and Firefox VPNs.
Your privacy is equally well protected, with the software only collecting some anonymized that help continually improve its service.
There is one caveat though - it won't work in high-censorship countries like China. If you don't need that in the first place, we highly recommend Hotspot Shield.
As that's typically the case with most VPN services out there, the longer you commit - the better deal you get. However, what makes Hotspot Shield even better is the fact that it offers a 7-day free trial of its service. A few other top VPN providers do the same. Plus, its money-back guarantee lasts for 45 days, making for a risk-free purchase. Cause, you can always get your money back. Sweet and just the way we like it.
Pros
Cons
- Reliable download and upload speeds
- Works with Netflix and BBC iPlayer
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Lets you use it on unlimited number of devices
- Low number of servers in Africa and Australia
Summary
You can rely on it for streaming and torrenting, with included extra features like CleanWeb and MultiHop, delivering a that much better — and more secure — experience.
Surfshark, the company, is based in the British Virgin Islands and with its zero-logs policy makes for a powerful combo to anyone looking to keep its web whereabouts under the radar.
The service is easy to use and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Pros
Cons
- One the best VPNs for torrenting
- Works well with Netflix
- Simple setup on all popular devices
- Strict zero-logs policy
- Doesn't work with BBC iPlayer
- Doesn't work in China
Summary
Its desktop apps are not among the prettiest ones, but they get the job done. The important thing is that installation is easy and straightforward, and that no logs are kept by the company.
When it comes to pricing, IPVanish is somewhere in the middle — it's not the most affordable option but also not the most expensive one. As noted, it will be most appreciated by heavy BitTorrent users, and — related — Kodi fans.
Amazon Firestick 101
It’s not just Firestick, there is also Amazon Fire TV (stylized as amazon fireTV), which is Amazon’s line of digital media player and micro-consoles. These devices are small network appliances that deliver digital audio and video content streamed via the Internet to a connected TV. They also allow users to access local content and to play video games with the included remote control or another game controller, or by using a mobile app remote control on another device.
Amazon Fire TV devices come in two shapes: Fire TV Cube, a set-top box with embedded Amazon Echo smart speaker; and the more popular Fire TV Stick — an HDMI plug-in stick with lesser specifications than the set-top box.
Amazon Firestick supports full HD 1080p video streaming as well as Dolby Digital Plus 7.1 surround sound. It is a rather affordable device which is the fact that has helped it gain a massive following in the U.S.
Amazon Firestick comes with Alexa built-in
That’s cool as you can also use it to get some meaningful answers, while at the same time providing Amazon with even more information about yourself — which in turn Amazon will happily be adding to the already huge pile of data to eventually offer you even more “products you’ll like.” So go on, use Alexa and help Jeff Bezos become the first man worth $300 billion as he’s already passed the $200 billion mark. Yes, I’m being sarcastic. Don’t use Alexa if you don’t have to.
Why use a VPN with Amazon Firestick?
Ask yourself:
- Why let the Big Tech know what you’re doing online?
- Why let government agencies know every step you make on the Internet?
Cause they are already collecting all the data in the world and then use some fancy algorithms to make sense of it all. So they could sell us more stuff by serving us “better ads” (in the case of Google, Amazon and Facebook). Yes, this effectively turns you and your Internet habits into a marketable product.
Do you feel like a product?
There is no need to give away your data to anyone. It’s your privacy and it should be your right. Don’t give it away that easily. And with a VPN, you get to regain your rights back.
And it’s not just the privacy, you should…
Get a VPN for many things!
Think beyond your Amazon Firestick – get a VPN for everything. You’ll want the one that works for:
- Accessing content that could otherwise be restricted in your physical location.
- Preventing tracking and minimizing your digital footprint so that no one can track you online (at least not that easily).
- Avoiding throttling from your ISP – which is known to happen when you’re torrenting or accessing video streaming services.
- Bypassing firewalls in a workplace, university, school and so on.
- Bypassing censorship in places like China, North Korea, countries in the Middle East, and even Turkey and Russia.
- Securely connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots – with a VPN encrypting all the traffic coming to and from your devices.
The bottom line is – get a VPN for everything. The top contenders (which also work with Amazon Firestick more secure) include the following:
