Although a free country, there is some censorship in Poland. Nothing major, but still – you may need a VPN to bypass those and other restrictions — such as those imposed in your workplace, school, university and so on.
Furthermore, with a VPN – you get to access content that could be blocked for Polish people, like the US version of Netflix, HBO Max, Hulu, etc.
Plus, a VPN will keep you protected while connecting to public Wi-Fi hotspots that could also be used by some malicious actors. In this scenario, a VPN will encrypt all data traveling between your devices and the rest of the Internet — making it impossible for hackers to know what you’re doing online.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. We think everyone should be using a VPN these days and these are the best services for Poland:
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.
Internet censorship and surveillance in Poland
Poland’s government slightly restricts access to the Internet by using a black registry of internet sites, which the Law and Justice party (PiS) deems unlawful — though there are no credible reports that it monitors email or Internet chat rooms without appropriate legal authority. The country’s constitution guarantees freedom of expression and forbids censorship. Libel remains a criminal offense, but possible penalties were reduced in 2009.
The law allows electronic surveillance for crime prevention and investigation, but there is neither independent judicial review of surveillance activities nor any control over the use of information obtained by monitoring private communications. A number of government agencies have access to wiretap information.
You can roam the Internet freely in Poland, but…
You will still need a VPN in order to access things like US Netflix as well as US versions of all other streaming services — which, as you know, have the largest catalogs of movies and TV shows.
In addition, an ISP may be throttling some activities like torrenting without a VPN. When you run a VPN, however, they have no idea what you’re doing online and can do little about it.
Furthermore, no amount of free speech will protect you against hackers using the same public Wi-Fi hotspot as you do when your data is traveling freely across the web. With a VPN, these malicious actors don’t stand a chance as it will encrypt all data making it impossible for them to decipher anything from your traffic.
In addition, a VPN gets you anonymity online so that tech giants like Google and Facebook can’t track your e-whereabouts. And the same goes for various government agencies, which seemingly want to know every step we make.
Finally, you may have to travel to some other place where the Internet is not as free as in Poland. Or you may need a Polish IP address – then you can use a VPN to connect to a server in the country and keep access to the data you need.
Get a VPN for all your needs
You should think beyond the borders of Poland and get a VPN that will serve all your existing as well as future needs — both on your computer and other devices such as your smartphone and tablet. To that end, you’ll want a service that will let you do things like:
- 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 that fits all your needs. The top contenders include the following:
