Is VPN legal?

It is perfectly legal to use a VPN in the USA, Canada, the UK and most of the world. VPNs are only illegal if you live in Belarus, Iraq, North Korea or Turkmenistan. However, countries such as China and Russia have laws that restrict the use of VPNs in certain ways.

Illustration showing countries where VPNs are illegal and legal

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) is a legal tool used to protect your privacy and security on the Internet.

VPNs are legal to use in most countries, but in this guide we will detail the countries where VPNs are legal and the countries where they are illegal.

In addition, we will examine the VPN laws in 10 countries that restrict VPN use.

We looked at the VPN laws of over 190 countries to find out where VPNs are legal. What we found.

VPNs are legal in most countries, including the US and the UK.

VPNs are illegal in Belarus, Iraq, North Korea and Turkmenistan.

Six other countries, including China and Russia, restrict the use of VPNs.

VPN use is permitted in 17 countries with notable digital rights restrictions.

Using a VPN is legal in most parts of the world, but your activities while using a VPN are still subject to the laws of your country.

It is still possible for law enforcement to request information stored by your VPN service. Ultimately, illegal activity is still illegal.

Using a VPN may also violate the terms of service of websites and applications that you have unlocked from abroad. For example, while using a VPN on Netflix is not illegal, it may violate their terms of use.