Last June, Apple announced that it would bring third-party VPN support to the Apple TV. That was the final point in a press release issued at WWDC, but far from being boring and unimportant, it means Apple TV owners could install VPN apps just like those with Amazon Fire TV Sticks and other streaming devices that natively support VPNs.
This is important because it means you can now bypass regional blocks and, for example, watch shows on Netflix that are not available in your country.
Previously, the only way to trick streaming services into thinking you were in another country using a VPN was to configure a suitable router with your VPN details, or configure a computer (like a Windows laptop) with one. VPN and share your Internet access. connection with your Apple TV.
Neither approach is even remotely practical and requires a certain level of technical knowledge to implement. But now that tvOS 17 is out, owners can simply go to the App Store and download a VPN app. There are a few available, with ExpressVPN being the first big-name service to appear in early December 2023.
Now NordVPN has followed suit, having been quite cagey until recently about whether it would develop an app and, if so, when it would be available.
Turns out the wait was much shorter than expected and the app is now in the store, ready to download. All you need is a current NordVPN subscription.
Streaming services are playing a cat-and-mouse game with VPN providers as they strongly oppose any tricks that allow subscribers to bypass regional blocks and watch content that is not allowed in their country .
That’s why NordVPN doesn’t explicitly talk about this feature, saying it protects your Apple TV, your privacy, and can help solve “issues that smart TVs face, such as internet restrictions.”
It presents this as a benefit that allows you to watch content at home while you’re abroad, which is a pretty legitimate use for most people. If you pay for Amazon Prime, you should be able to watch Prime Video from anywhere in the world.
Another benefit of using a VPN on your Apple TV is to avoid any throttling that your ISP might apply based on your activity. In other words, the privacy aspect means that your ISP won’t know what you’re doing and therefore there’s less chance that your 4K video stream will end up buffering.
Like the ExpressVPN app, Nord’s lets you automatically choose the best VPN server or choose a specific location from the 60 countries it covers. Even if you have fast broadband, NordVPN won’t slow down your connection: it uses its NordLynx protocol which is based on WireGuard and is widely known to be one of the fastest consumer VPN services on the market.
It’s currently unclear when Surfshark – NordVPN’s sister company – will launch its own Apple TV app, but it should happen soon.
