What Is a VPN Kill Switch? The Only Guide You‘ll Ever Need
You‘re halfway through the new season of Stranger Things when suddenly the screen freezes. No matter how many times you refresh, you can‘t connect to Netflix. You‘ve been detected using a VPN. Your account is blocked. Those non-refundable subscription fees? Gone.
It‘s every streamer‘s worst nightmare. But it doesn‘t have to be yours. The secret to safe streaming with a VPN is a little-known feature called a kill switch. And nobody does the kill switch better than ExpressVPN.
Think of a kill switch as your streaming safety net. Its one job is to make sure that not one second of your internet traffic goes through an unsecured connection. If your VPN drops for any reason, the kill switch pulls the plug on your internet instantly – no unencrypted data leaks out.
Why is this so important for streamers? Because the big streaming services are getting more and more aggressive about detecting and punishing VPN users.
You‘re probably using a VPN to access streaming content from other countries or to avoid pesky ISP throttling. That makes sense – a 2022 forecast from Statista estimates that a whopping 54% of VPN users rely on them primarily for streaming!
But here‘s the problem: When you connect to a US streaming service using a VPN, you‘re often breaking their Terms of Service.
Content is licensed by region, see, and HBO doesn‘t have the rights to show Game of Thrones in Italy. So they block VPN users the best they can using tools like IP blocklists, AI analysis, and CAPTCHAs. If you get caught, you can kiss your coveted streaming accounts goodbye.
It gets worse. Let‘s say you‘re streaming Hulu with your VPN on as usual when suddenly your internet glitches. Maybe a storm disrupted your Wi-Fi for a second or your ISP had a brief outage.
In that moment when your VPN wasn‘t connected, you defaulted to your regular internet connection, exposing your real location. Hulu noticed. Now you‘re locked out, no more Handmaid‘s Tale for you.
"But wait," you say. "My VPN has 99.9% uptime!"
That may be so. But is it worth risking your pricey streaming subscriptions on? In 2022, researchers at Surfshark tested 45 million VPN sessions. What did they find? Over 9 out of 10 sessions had at least one connectivity loss.
When you‘re dealing with strict VPN crackdowns, even 10 seconds of exposure is too much. Enter the kill switch – your streaming guard dog.
A kill switch constantly scans your VPN connection status behind the scenes. The millisecond it detects interrupted VPN service, the kill switch leaps into action, slamming the brakes on all your internet traffic before a single unencrypted byte can get through. Crisis averted.
When the VPN comes back online, the kill switch will automatically restore your internet access like nothing happened. You probably won‘t even notice a blip in your browsing or streaming. But you‘ll have the peace of mind of knowing your streaming VPN use was not exposed.
So who has the best kill switch in the business? I‘ve tested them all and the clear winner is ExpressVPN. They call it Network Lock and it comes standard on every single ExpressVPN app across Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more.
Some VPN providers only offer a kill switch on desktop or require a higher tier subscription. But ExpressVPN believes the kill switch is an essential part of any VPN security package.
Not only that, but ExpressVPN‘s Network Lock is highly customizable. By default, it will block all internet traffic when the VPN drops. But you can also configure it to allow access to certain apps like your banking or smart home devices while still blocking everything else. That flexibility is rare among VPN kill switches.
So how do you turn on this streaming superhero? It couldn‘t be simpler. Just open your ExpressVPN app, go to Preferences > General and check the box that says "Stop all internet traffic if the VPN disconnects unexpectedly". Done. Your internet is now locked down with the flip of a switch.
I also recommend thoroughly testing your kill switch to make sure it‘s working properly. The easiest way is to connect your VPN, start a continuous ping, and then force-stop the VPN app. If your ping times out while the VPN is down, the kill switch is doing its job.
Not all kill switches are created equal though. According to a 2022 comparative study by VPNmentor, ExpressVPN‘s Network Lock passed all leak tests across every platform, both for IPv4 and IPv6. Their tester abruptly disconnected ExpressVPN and found that "all my web traffic was terminated and the Network Lock feature reconnected me to another VPN server."
Other top VPNs had mixed results, sometimes taking a few seconds to engage the kill switch or leaking IPv6 data. That‘s simply not good enough when your precious streaming accounts are on the line.
So if you‘re serious about cord cutting and want to access all the streaming content the world has to offer, you need a VPN with a kill switch you can count on. Don‘t make the mistake of subscribing to the cheapest service out there, getting your VPN blocked, then twiddling your thumbs while you wait for the customer support email.
Go with the provider that puts your streaming experience first. ExpressVPN consistently delivers the fastest speeds, the most reliable connections, and the most powerful kill switch in the industry. Their apps are a breeze to use on any device from your Fire Stick to your iPhone. And if you ever run into trouble, their 24/7 live chat will get you back up and bingeing in minutes.
But you don‘t have to take my word for it. You can test-drive ExpressVPN‘s streaming-optimized service and kill switch with a 30-day money-back guarantee. That‘s right – you‘ve got a full month to try it risk-free. If you don‘t love it as much as I do, you‘ll get a complete refund.
Look, I get it. VPNs can seem complicated and scary, with all this talk of encryption protocols and IP leaks. But I promise, enabling ExpressVPN‘s kill switch will be the best 30-second investment you make in your cord cutting setup.
You lock your front door before you leave for work. You put on your seatbelt before you drive. Using a kill switch before you stream is the same thing – an easy, automatic way to safeguard yourself from preventable catastrophes.
Don‘t let unexpected VPN failures ruin your care-free streaming groove. Protect your favorite content, your privacy, and your pocketbook with ExpressVPN‘s best-in-class kill switch.
Happy streaming!
