Best VPNs for UAE & Dubai in (2024) – Ranked!

Original VPN to Avoid Within the UAE & Dubai

If you’ve been Googling which VPN to use while in the UAE, chances are you’ll come up with a few that are literally best avoided, either because they don’t add the UAE or because of a changing practice precedent. There are tons of bad VPN services, but here are two, especially, that you should steer clear of:

Hola:

Hola, a peer-to-peer network, may use idle bandwidth on other people’s computers to make a VPN tunnel. Likewise, people use your bandwidth when you’re not using it. This will make you responsible for other people’s online activity, a huge risk when you are within the UAE and Dubai. The company also has a history of abusing user trust. It once turned every device on its network into a huge botnet and used it to resist distributed denial of service attacks on websites.

Visit Hola

HideMyAss:

While HMA does not log any of your activity or the content of your Internet traffic, it stores user logs of detailed metadata, including your IP address. The most famous example is the arrest of Cody Kretsinger, a LulzSec hacker involved in a cyberattack on Sony Pictures. HideMyAss turned over evidence to authorities pursuant to a court order that led to his arrest. While we don’t tolerate what Cody did, VPN users should be skeptical of HideMyAss’s “no logs” claims.

Visit HMA

Are VPNs Legal within the UAE?

Many users turn to a VPN to bypass these digital content blocks, an action that currently resides during a significant legal gray zone within the country. In fact, rumors abound about the legal consequences of using a VPN in the country.

Recently, many residents of the UAE received a text message asking them to report to a police headquarters in Dubai to pay a fine of Dh5,000. This is disguised as a lie. Despite those false rumors, VPNs are still very popular.

A 2012 cybercrime law passed in the country only appeared to ban the use of VPNs for activities deemed illegal within the county. Pornography, anti-religious hate speech, and gambling are among the most common offenses. However, that law has since been amended and expanded, which has confused many VPN users or potential users about the new law and whether or not there is a UAE VPN ban in place. Many are now more confused than ever about what is allowed and what is not.

However, between 2012 and 2016, few VPN websites that allowed users to access blocked Internet content were blocked by the TRA, indicating that the country is not actively blocking these sites, or to the least amount, you are not actively reporting it. Still, many local stores sell VoIP cards that allow the use of voice IP services, despite the ban on services such as Skype. It can seem like a blind eye is being turned to what might be considered minor infringements, and vast numbers of people use Skype and other “banned” VoIP services with the help of a VPN.

That said, this amendment to the law is new and should be closely watched. There are many uses for a VPN within the UAE and Dubai, most of which are considered within the country’s legal gray area, such as accessing geo-blocked content from streaming content websites such as BBC iPlayer, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.

UAE VPN Laws & Content

The UAE’s internet content-blocking laws are too complex, but they support two categories: religious principles and business protection.

The religious principles aspect of this is often quite clear. The UAE has a complicated governance structure with an absolute monarchy at the highest level. The rules are founded on a blend of Sharia and civil law principles. *

As the country’s laws are heavily based on Sharia, the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority’s blocking of online content is sensible under the UAE’s time-honored Muslim belief system, although less draconian than what you might find. In other mainly Muslim countries such as Iran or Saudi Arabia.

According to the TRA, content “contradicts UAE ethics and morals” is blocked outright. This includes:

• Pornography
• Voip Sites & Services (Skype)
• Play
• Websites Containing Hate Speech Against Religion
• Websites Associated With the Assembly, Sale, & Distribution of Illegal Drugs
• Content That is Often Contrary to the Beliefs of the Majority of the Sunni Population
• Many Wikipedia Pages
• Israeli Websites

TRA provides statistics annually on its content-blocking initiative:

Amended VPN Law of 2016

In early 2016, the UAE amended its cybercrime law to specify more VPN uses. The law says:

“Whoever uses a fraudulent network protocol address (IP address) by any means to commit a crime or avoid its discovery will be punished with temporary imprisonment and a fine of not more than Dhs 500,000 (USD $136,128.51) and not more than Dhs 2,000,000 (USD $544,514.04), or any combination of those two penalties.”.

Many stories emerged in the immediate aftermath of this amendment that apparently broadened the scope of this law to incorporate all VPN use. However, this has not been the case. In fact, VPN usage within the UAE and Dubai is exceptionally high and very common. As the TRA’s own content filtering statistics demonstrate, most websites outside of these that violate ethics laws are generally not prohibited. This includes VPN services. However, as long as the VPN you are using is doing its job and obfuscating your connection to the VPN server, it is unlikely to attract the attention of the authorities.

Some Content Blocks Are Supposed to Benefit Businesses

The United Arab Emirates sees a lot of foreign trade traffic and depends heavily on it for its economy. Dubai, especially, has a considerable number of non-Muslims and temporary residents who live and trade within the city year-round and long-term. To stay on the friendlier side of its international trading partners, the country tends to spend less time enforcing several of the laws that are on the books in Dubai, although recent changes to the law may indicate a consequent return to censorship. and strict enforcement.

The companies themselves enjoy some content-blocking laws designed to protect their interests. The blocking of digital content from Voice Internet Protocol (VoIP) and many other messaging applications, such as Skype, WhatsApp, and Google Hangouts, is due to the fact that the country wants to prevent its telecommunications industry from losing business to those who use the Internet platforms. Free communication. As such, long-distance calls within the UAE can only be made old-fashioned, at least legally.

VoIP cards that are commonly sold in the country are an over-the-counter method of overcoming this ban. VoIP calling cards are an alternative solution to the system that allows users to call a foreign PSTN, which is then connected to a VoIP system. In this way, users can make VoIP calls using a regular cellular network or perhaps a landline phone.

Online Streaming in Dubai & Thus in the UAE

Netflix is ​​not blocked within the United Arab Emirates. The service launched in the United Arab Emirates in early 2016. More than 300 TV shows and just under 1,000 movies are now available in the country. This represents about 30% of what is available through Netflix in the US Many Netflix users in Dubai use VPNs to access other Netflix regions. Keep in mind that not all VPNs are effective for accessing Netflix; For more details, check out our Netflix VPN list.

Similarly, many users are using VPN services to access Amazon Prime Video services within the country. Amazon itself is not blocked, but the website does not operate its video streaming services within the country. However, these are available through a VPN and are not considered “illegal content” under the country’s recently changed VPN laws.

Using a VPN to access international libraries of online media streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, BBC iPlayer, or Amazon Prime Video is considered a low-risk undertaking. Authorities are most concerned about users using VPNs for serious crimes and, more particularly, about issues more directly associated with the ethics laws mentioned above.

Get a VPN Before You Arrive in the UAE.

Even if you are not using the VPN service for illegal purposes, visiting VPN websites to download a VPN service will generate alerts and make you a priority for surveillance, even if you are not using it for illegal purposes. As a result, downloading a VPN application before joining the country is recommended.

Downloading before you go will help you make sure you have a VPN service on your computer before arriving in the country. It will not generate an alert signal if you access the VPN’s website after your arrival. And if you are making sure to use obfuscation, assuming you are employing a service that has this feature, you will avoid even being identified as a VPN user in the least.

Bypass VPN Blocking

As stated above, VPN blocking happens within the UAE as VPN services are among the things listed by the TRA that they monitor. New amendments to the country’s cybersecurity law to broaden the scope of the illegality of VPNs also increase the chances that you will find your VPN service blocked.

However, you can get around VPN blocks using several well-known methods.

1. Don’t Use a Free VPN

Free VPN providers are a great gamble that just isn’t worth it, especially if you’re traveling to the United Arab Emirates. Free VPNs Often:

• Useless Secure Encryption Methods
• Place Third Party Advertisements on Their Sites
• Keep Records
• Have Fewer Server Options
• Have Slower Servers With Less Bandwidth
• Sell Personal Information of Users

Given the large number of gray areas that exist for VPN users within the UAE and Dubai, there is no reason to demand that risk to save a couple of bucks.

2. Change Your TCP Port to 443

The OpenVPN TCP protocol can travel through port 443. This is usually a port equivalent to the HTTPS protocol. This is often a lightweight obfuscation method because it makes your VPN traffic look like normal SSL traffic from an HTTPS website. Many paid VPN services allow you to easily switch to the current settings, especially if you already use OpenVPN.

3. Switch to a Special Protocol

If the OpenVPN TCP protocol hangs, it will try to switch to the L2TP / IPsec protocol. This protocol is very safe and still common. However, confirm that your L2TP protocol comes with IPsec security, as a “raw” L2TP protocol is not secure.

You can also try the SSTP protocol if available. However, most devices do not commonly support this protocol, although some Windows machines may have it as an option.

We do not recommend switching to the PPTP protocol. It is not safe, mainly because it is considered outdated. Whenever you are connecting to a VPN during a more or less hostile environment, you will want to avoid an insecure VPN protocol.

Is Netflix Banned in the UAE?

Netflix is ​​freely accessible within the United Arab Emirates, with monthly plans starting at AED 29 (approximately $ 7.90 USD). However, there are only about 2,900 titles available; For context, the US library offers nearly 6,000 in total.

Originally, when Netflix launched globally, it sparked ire for attempting to crack down on VPN users outright, which was not an honest look considering those within the UAE face severe penalties for violating a myriad of online restrictions too often vague. However, his approach has since changed. In contrast, if Netflix detects that you are using a VPN, it will only show movies and TV shows for which it has global broadcast rights (all Netflix originals, for example). You’ll still be ready to watch, only with a very narrow selection of content.

Conclusion

After thorough research and testing, we have determined that using a VPN in the UAE and Dubai is essential for secure and unrestricted internet access. Our recommended VPNs for the UAE and Dubai provide fast and reliable connections with a broad range of servers in the UAE and worldwide. With a VPN, you can bypass government censorship, access geo-restricted content, and safeguard your online privacy from cyber threats.

Whether you are a resident or a traveler in the UAE and Dubai, we hope this article has provided you with valuable insights to select the best VPN that suits your requirements. Remember to assess your priorities, such as speed, security, and server locations, before making a final decision. With the right VPN, you can surf the web safely and freely anywhere in the UAE and Dubai.