TikTok is one of those services that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and has quickly gained traction around the world. And, unsurprisingly, its rise was followed by restrictions that seemingly go hand-in-hand with any service with such popularity.
And so, today many folks use a VPN in order to get their “TikTok fix.” And since this is mostly a mobile service, you’ll need a VPN that works well on your smartphone and/or tablet.
Luckily, there are such services out there, which BTW, will also let you access other services that may be blocked in your workplace, school, university, or the entire country. These VPNs are easy to use and you won’t even notice them “doing their thing” in the background. All you have to do is start that VPN app, select a server (country), and then act like no one is blocking you from accessing the Internet in its entirety — with a VPN doing the hard work in the background.
That being said, here are the best VPNs for TikTok, which you could also use for other services:
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
- You can't pay with PayPal
Summary
Its network includes more than 5,000 servers spread across 60 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.
What TikTok is all about?
Known in China as Douyin, TikTok is a video-sharing social network owned by Chinese company ByteDance. It is used to make short-form videos, from genres like dance, comedy, and education — most of which have a duration from fifteen seconds to one minute.
TikTok was originally released in China in September 2016 as Douyin, and expanded to the rest of the world a year later. The two services co-exist today, boasting almost the same user interface but no access to each other’s content. Their servers are each based on the market(s) where the respective app is available. Also, while the two products are similar, their features are not identical.
Aside from China, TikTok/Douyin rapidly gained popularity in East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the United States, Turkey, Russia, and other parts of the world. As of October 2020, TikTok surpassed over 2 billion mobile downloads worldwide. In the US alone, the app has been downloaded more than 130 million times.
Merger with Musical.ly
In November 2017, TikTok’s parent company ByteDance spent up to $1 billion to purchase musical.ly, a startup headquartered in Shanghai with an overseas office in Santa Monica, California. Released in August 2014, Musical.ly was a social media video platform that allowed users to create short lip-sync and comedy videos. It was well known, especially to the younger audience.
Looking forward to leveraging the US digital platform’s young user base, TikTok merged with musical.ly on August 2, 2018, to create a larger video community, with existing accounts and data consolidated into one app, keeping the title TikTok. This ended musical.ly and made TikTok a worldwide app, excluding China, since China already has Douyin.
After merging with musical.ly in August, downloads increased and TikTok became the most downloaded app in the US in October 2018, which musical.ly had done once before.
TikTok bans
On August 3, 2020 – US President Donald Trump threatened to ban TikTok in the United States if negotiations for the company to be bought by Microsoft or a different “very American” company failed. Three days later, Trump signed two executive orders banning US “transactions” with TikTok and WeChat to its respective parent companies ByteDance and Tencent, set to take effect 45 days after the signing. A planned ban was postponed by a week and then blocked by a federal judge.
In India, the situation is different, and there – the app has been banned by the government since June 2020 along with 223 other Chinese apps in response to a border clash with China.
Pakistan also banned TikTok citing “immoral” and “indecent” videos in October 2020, but quickly reversed that ban. Then in March 2021, a Pakistani court ordered a new TikTok ban due to complaints over “indecent” content.
Some other countries that block access to TikTok include Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Morning Consult ranked TikTok as the third fastest-growing brand of 2020, after only Zoom and Peacock.
You need a VPN for TikTok…
And not just for TikTok – you need a VPN for everything you do online. Why in the world would you want for the Big Tech, let alone various government agencies, to know your web whereabouts? You shouldn’t give them that privilege because it effectively turns you (all of us) into a product.
That, my friend, is just one piece of the puzzle — a good VPN will:
- Protect your privacy from the government and big corporations
- Bypass restrictions imposed by the government or various organizations
- Change your IP address so you get unrestricted access to Netflix, Disney+, iPlayer, HULU, and other video streaming services
- Encrypt and protect private data from cybercriminals
The top contenders that check all these boxes include the following:
