Is WhatsApp Banned in China?

Currently, some 10,000 domains are blocked in China by their government’s Internet censorship policy. Along with Google, YouTube, Facebook and many others, WhatsApp is also affected by this, ever since it was banned back in September of 2017. This means that nobody from China can use any of these services. That includes people visiting the country as well.

If you need to use WhatsApp while in China, there’s a solution to this, and it comes in the form of VPN services. Using Virtual Private Networks, you can hide your current geographical location. This in turn allows you to access the restricted content on the Internet by using servers from other countries.

What Kind of VPN Do You Need?

Even though there are many different VPN providers, not all allow for high enough encryption power and stability to allow you to go through the Great Firewall of China. Taking this into account, it’s certain that free VPNs definitely won’t be up for this job.

The ones that do have the power to bypass this firewall come with some serious programming and infrastructure behind them. Achieving this involves significant expense, so that’s why you’ll have to pay for one of these services in order to unblock WhatsApp in China.

Which VPNs You Can Use?

With so many VPNs available today, it’s important to choose the right one for the job. In the following sections you’ll find a trio of the most popular VPNs, which are powerful enough to circumvent that firewall. You can even use them to download torrents or entertain yourself watching the content over popular streaming platforms, while keeping your identity well hidden.

ExpressVPN

With over 3000 servers operating worldwide and top-class encryption, ExpressVPN is a top choice for millions of users. It comes with a ton of advanced security features, allowing you to beat even the most severe of the geographical restrictions. This way you’re able to go through any firewall filters, especially the tough ones such as those in China.

ExpressVPN is also lightning fast, allowing for smooth surfing without any glitches. Since it doesn’t keep any logs, even if ExpressVPN’s integrity gets compromised, there will be no data that can point in your direction. This proved to be true when the Turkish government confiscated one of their servers.

Using obfuscation servers, this VPN will mask any traffic going over your Internet Service Provider. Thanks to this, there’s no way to tell whether you’re using a VPN or not. Along with all this, ExpressVPN also prevents DNS and webRTC leaks, making sure no one knows which sites you’re visiting or what your IP address is.

As far as China’s firewall is concerned, ExpressVPN has it surrounded with servers located in nearby countries. This includes South Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, India, and Pakistan. This way, using WhatsApp in China is just a simple matter of installing the VPN to any of your devices.

NordVPN

Just like ExpressVPN, this one also has numerous servers around the world, along with more than 100 servers surrounding China from neighboring countries. With the military-grade encryption and many other security features like kill switch, Double VPN, or DNS leak prevention, NordVPN will let you use WhatsApp in China in a matter of seconds. Also, there are no logs kept, so no worries there as well.

Thanks to the super-stable connection at high Internet speeds, you can even use NordVPN to stream your favorite movies and TV shows while in China. This includes services such as HBO, Netflix, Hulu, Showtime, or Amazon Prime Video. And if you want to do a bit of torrenting, this VPN allows you to do that as well.

Surfshark

Thanks to its camouflage mode, Surfshark makes sure your IP address remains hidden at all times. Along with its military-grade encryption, Surfshark brings the MultiHop option which allows you to connect to different servers in multiple countries all at once. This will definitely make sure no one reveals your true location.

Like the other two VPNs mentioned above, Surfshark protects you from any DNS and IP address leaks. It also keeps no logs of your traffic, so you’re safe from being detected at any point. Unlike ExpressVPN or NordVPN which let you use up to five or six simultaneous connections respectively, Surfshark allows you to connect an unlimited number of your devices at the same time.

Bypassing the Great Firewall of China

Using any of these VPNs will allow you to chat with your friends over WhatsApp from China, while keeping your identity well protected at all times. Besides WhatsApp, you’re also able to access any of the blocked websites and services the Chinese government decided to put behind their massive firewall.

Have you managed to access WhatsApp from China? Which VPN did you use for that? Please share your experiences in the comments section below.