How to Unblock Spotify in 2020 and Get Worldwide Coverage

Spotify is one of the most popular music streaming services in the world with millions of tracks to listen to. It allows you to enjoy your favorite songs or podcasts, share your playlists with your friends and find content you’re interested in.

Unfortunately, not everyone has access to it. We’re going to show you how to unblock Spotify in this guide.

If you want to sign up for the service, you should know it’s not available in all countries. Many users from all over the world get a generic message that says “Spotify is currently not available in your country” when they try downloading the app or accessing the service online. That basically means there are geoblocks in place.

This happens for several reasons. Spotify licenses tracks from different artists, music labels and rights holders of the content, who can pick the countries they’d like to make their music available in. Therefore, you won’t be able to play or listen to particular songs if you’re living outside the “approved” countries.

Maybe you can access Spotify in your country, but your workplace or school has blocked the service. This is often done to keep a lid on unnecessary bandwidth usage or just to keep you from getting distracted and waste work or study hours (see our best VPN for school piece for more examples, and check out our guide on how to unblock Netflix at school, too).

This can be frustrating if you want to unwind with your favorite music while on a break. Thankfully, you can bypass all these restrictions. Before we get to the fix, though, let’s look at the reasons behind the Spotify blocks.

Why Spotify Is Blocked

Spotify is currently available in 80 countries around the globe. It’s blocked in others based on their terms and agreements with owners of music copyrights. The company bids for music licensing rights from the content’s legal owners, such as producers or record labels.

Rival streaming services, like Apple Music, Pandora, Tidal and others, also bid for the same content, which means Spotify won’t be able to operate in some countries.

Not only that, but many businesses and organizations, like schools and other learning institutions, block user access to the streaming platform.

Whenever you log in to Spotify, it’ll try to find your location using your IP address. If it determines it’s from a non-supported country, it’ll restrict you from accessing the content.

Even if it’s available in your part of the world, you can’t access all songs, artists or albums because Spotify incorporates a different content library based on where you’re logging in from.

Your authentication details are stored for 14 days, during which you can access streaming music from any country. However, once this period is over, you’ll have to log in again.

The app will check your IP address again to determine whether you’re in the same country listed in your profile, blocking or allowing access based on your location.

How to Unblock Spotify

If you find yourself blocked from Spotify, there are ways you can get around it, but the two main options are using a proxy or a virtual private network.

Proxies are the easiest and cheapest way to circumvent a Spotify block. They’re not only easy to use but also fast, but they aren’t very secure. We talk more about web proxy security in our VPN vs. Proxy vs. Tor article. If you’re interested in using one, though, we’ve put together a list of the best free proxy providers, but we don’t recommend it.

The best approach is to set up a VPN on your device. If you’re already familiar with using one, it’s quick and easy to do, so you can check out our list of the best VPN providers to choose from.

However, they don’t all offer the same features, so there are a few things you need to consider before picking one, especially for unblocking Spotify. The most important feature is security, including a kill switch and a no-logging policy.

A kill switch prevents your true IP address from being exposed, keeping you anonymous and undetected online, while a no-logging policy protects your privacy because the company doesn’t store information about your online activity. Read our article on VPN security for more insight.

If you use Spotify on your mobile device, or you’d like to install it on multiple devices, make sure the VPN you pick offers cross-platform apps. Read our piece on the best VPN for mobile for more ideas.

The Best VPN for Spotify

For all the features mentioned above, we’ve picked three VPN recommendations  that can unblock Spotify while securing your connection and keeping your identity hidden.

Whether you’re unable to listen to your favorite music because of a network owner blocking access, or you live in an unsupported country, any of these VPNs can help you get connected.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is the best VPN around. Security is excellent, with a powerful 256-bit AES encryption, DNS-leak protection and a kill switch. This makes it an ideal choice if you’re looking to securely and promptly defy region locks.

Its speeds are really good, which is why it earned the top spot on our best fast VPN piece. Additionally, it can unblock Spotify and other media streaming services, making it the best VPN for streaming, too.

You can install ExpressVPN easily and quickly on Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS devices. It also offers a 30-day refund window that you can take advantage of before committing to a longer plan, so you’ve got nothing to lose. Learn more in our ExpressVPN review.

NordVPN

NordVPN is another good choice for unblocking Spotify. It has a large server network spread across the world with specialty servers so you can find a suitable connection. Security is good thanks to its strong encryption protocols, kill switch, double-hop servers for extra protection and a built-in malware blocking tool.

It also has unlimited bandwidth, and its speeds are good, except over long distances when it tends to slow down a bit. It’s not as consistent as ExpressVPN (read our ExpressVPN vs. NordVPN comparison to learn more).

However, it works really well with certain applications, like torrents, which is why it’s our best VPN for torrenting. It’ll also get you into Spotify and other streaming services.

NordVPN is easy to install and use, and it works with all major platforms like Windows, macOS, Android and iOS. It also offers great customer support via live chat or email, should you need it.

A 30-day refund window is available so you can take it for a spin before subscribing. Read our NordVPN review for an in-depth look at the service.

CyberGhost

CyberGhost is another VPN service that can unblock Spotify. It has a large server network covering 60 countries, good security and a strict no-logs policy so your privacy is honored. It also offers decent speeds and unlimited bandwidth.

You can install it quickly and easily on most major operating systems with up to seven devices connected simultaneously, which is why it’s one of our best VPNs for multiple devices.

Unlike our first two choices, CyberGhost offers a 45-day money-back guarantee that you can fall back on if you don’t like the service. Read our CyberGhost review for more details.

Other Reasons You Should Use a VPN with Spotify

A survey by cybersecurity company DynaRisk shows that you’re more likely to be hacked if you use certain services, like Netflix and Spotify, among others.

This isn’t surprising, given the sheer number of Spotify users whose accounts were compromised even though the company denied the claim. At the time, it mostly affected users of the free version of its service.

Users of Windows, Mac and Linux operating systems reported that the program would open their default browsers to load malware-infected sites. However, it’s unclear where the details — such as emails, usernames, passwords and account type — were acquired from because they’re specific to Spotify.

DynaRisk says that hackers target bigger brands not just to steal valuable information, but also for the monetary benefits they get from reselling stolen credentials to “willing customers who want an account at a fraction of the retail cost.”

Using a VPN has far-reaching benefits, the main ones being security and online anonymity. It protects your online privacy and keeps your personal data safe from hackers and third parties, giving you more freedom to enjoy digital content online. You can also stream faster without having to pause between one song and the next.

Final Thoughts

There are several ways to unblock Spotify, but you now know how to easily bypass any geoblocks and other restrictions, such as the Netflix VPN ban, by simply setting up a VPN. The added security you’ll get from using a VPN makes it even more appealing to have one.

If you have questions, comments or other recommendations on how to unblock Spotify, please leave them below. As always, thank you for reading.