Which countries not to use with your VPN

You are connected to a VPN server to be anonymous and protected. But you should avoid connecting through some countries that don't do well with privacy.

A world with a free internet is still a utopia these days. Although we all support freedom of opinion and expression, unfortunately, there are states on our planet that do not share this view, no matter what they say officially.

There are governments actively involved in censorship, repression, monitoring and similar activities that undermine internet freedom.

A VPN can help bypass these roadblocks, especially if you live in such a country. However, for some strange reason there are VPN server locations located in countries with a low level of freedom of speech that you should be suspicious of.

So whether you live in a free country and use a VPN for torrenting, gaming, streaming or normal browsing, or just want to hide your tracks, the country you connect to can greatly affect your online safety. Connecting to a bad server location will compromise your privacy, slow down your internet speed, or maybe cause you other nasty problems.

As much as VPN companies advertise that the machinetheir eyes are safe, it is very difficult to deal with the respective government and manage their data without it being monitored. But let's see which VPN server geographical locations you should avoid. The order is alphabetical.

North Korea
The country does not allow foreign companies to provide services within its borders. If you can't host an international server in North Korea, you can't give users access to North Korean IP addresses.

If any company or VPN claims otherwise it is nothing more than a (dishonest) marketing tactic (see Hidemyass).

Greece
We are not 100% sure about Greece after that what was heard for monitoring by the EYP and by "strangers" through the illegal software Predator.

Without wanting to partisan our conversation, it is better to avoid VPN servers from Greece, especially if you live in Greece!. Because if party and army leaders are being watched, then they have you for testing their machines.

After all, the "Reporters Without Borders” and they don't hold us in high esteem for press freedom. We are ranked 107th globally, below many third world governments.

Iran
You probably won't find VPN Servers in Iran unlike game servers which are quite a lot. Since the protests against the death of Mahsa Amini began on September 16, 2022, the Iranian government has taken measures on the internet.

China
The Chinese Communist government has probably the largest and most sophisticated censorship apparatus in the world. This censorship system, also known as the Great Firewall, has been around since the late 90s and blocks any content the government disagrees with.

In 2018, the government raised the already high censorship stakes by banning unlicensed VPNs. This means that only state-approved VPN services can operate within the country. The provision provides the government with a backdoor to monitor the online activity of VPN users, which essentially defeats the purpose of using a VPN.

Please note that you will not be able to access most social media platforms such as Facebook and YouTube, international news sites such as New York Times και σε ξένα περιοδικά με κινεζική διεύθυνση IP.

Russia
When it comes to cyber security, Russia is always in the news. The suspected hack of the 2016 US presidential election, the infamous attack on the Colonial pipeline in 2021, and the numerous recent cyberattacks, have suggested that Russia or a Russian-backed group is behind it.

Leave the war with Ukraine that has brought Western sanctions against it.

Not surprisingly, the Russian government goes to great lengths to monitor internet usage within its borders. And to top it off, their efforts are also terrifyingly effective.

Since 2017, the government has banned the use of unapproved VPNs. VPN service providers still operating in Russia have some to agree with conditions, including those that require companies to log user data. This is why most reliable VPNs do not have servers in Russia to maintain user privacy.

But you will find services with VPN servers in Russia, such as Vpnarea, Hotspotshield, Cyberghostvpn and others. The Russian government also has an internet blacklist that it uses to block certain websites.

Senegal
According to Top10VPN VPN demand from Senegal residents increased over 60.000% on June 2, 2023 compared to the daily average. The reason is that the Senegalese government has restricted access to social media platforms and messaging services.

For Top10VPN it is the biggest increase in VPN demand it has ever recorded. This resulted in not finding VPN servers on the territory of Senegal.

Συρία
Following the civil war in Syria, access to online services and websites has come under severe attack. The country has become a haven for censorship as no one is allowed to produce or access content critical of the government.

Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), a technology that makes phone calls over the internet possible, is completely blocked and even internet cafes are required to monitor users' browsing habits.

So if you find VPV Servers installed in Syria write to us. And here, as in North Korea, if any company or VPN claims to have servers there it is nothing more than a (dishonest) marketing tactic (see Hidemyass.com).

In conclusion
If you're just starting out and "playing" with your new VPN and changing countries and IPs like shirts, think twice about where you're going to connect first. No one wants to live in a world without free internet. You got a VPN to be free but you might find yourself being tracked by a government.

Although virtual private networks try to preserve our online freedom, there are still authoritarian regimes in the world that set VPN regulations, which either prohibit or monitor online activities performed using VPNs.

See our corresponding article "The best countries to connect to using a VPN", for more complete information.