Portugal has a lot to offer to visitors including beautiful scenery, delicious food, rich history and a great variety of outdoor activities. Portugal is also a great place to live since it is one of the safest countries in the world and civil rights are overall respected. The economic growth has helped Lisbon to become a new hub for technology and it is estimated that over 67% of people in Portugal use the Internet. In spite of the stable democracy, the thriving economy and the solid status of Portugal as one of the favorite holiday destinations in Europe, the country still faces some challenges including corruption and some legal restrictions that affect journalists.
Although freedom of the press is protected, the laws that aim to tackle defamation have lead to civil and criminal charges against some journalists. However, there seems to be a strong commitment to transparency in Portugal and in most cases, the courts take the side of journalists. The right to privacy is protected by law and there is no strong evidence of online monitoring carried out by the government. While in general, there is no online censorship in Portugal, at least not in the same level as in other countries, several websites are blocked in Portugal on the grounds of copyright infringement or because they don’t have a gambling license to operate in the country. For instance, The Pirate Bay, one of the most popular torrent websites in the world, is blocked in Portugal.
Although the vast majority of websites affected by the blocks contain content subject that is subject to copyright and as such are deemed to be illegal, there have been some concerns about the possibility of the blocks targeting websites that are not involved in copyright infringement and don’t offer gambling. Many argue that the websites have been blocked for breaking Portuguese law and if it is believed that a website was blocked unfairly, it is possible to appeal or report the case to the relevant government officials. However, there are also geographical blocks that prevent users in Portugal from accessing content from international streaming services and websites. If you want to recover your online freedom and enjoy internet in Portugal without hassle, you can rely on a VPN.
You can connect to a VPN server outside Portugal and enjoy access to all the content you want, including websites and applications that are only available in countries like the United States and the United Kingdom. If you are in Portugal get an error message when you visit a website, telling you that the content that you want to access is only available in another country, you can simply connect to a VPN service in that location to unblock the content. Apart from helping you to defeat restrictions, a VPN adds security to your connection. All the data that you access and share on the internet is routed through an encrypted tunnel, which keeps it safe from eavesdroppers.
Check our list below to find the best VPNs for Portugal.
VPNArea
VPNArea has servers in Portugal and in other 68 countries, it also offers a good set of security features that will keep your identity and your online activities protected from many threats. Kill switch, protection against DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks and WebRTC are some of the features that will ensure that your real IP is not revealed at any stage. VPNArea also offers amazing speeds and its technology will allow you to overcome any blocks. They offer high encryption and ad blocking as well.
ExpressVPN
ExpressVPN has servers in 94 countries, including Portugal so if you just want to enhance your online security and protect your real IP while you are accessing online banking and other local services, you can connect to a Portuguese server. ExpressVPN is also a great option for streaming and downloading content because it offers remarkable speeds. Apart from being fast, ExpressVPN is also very secure and it protects your internet traffic with high encryption.
NordVPN
NordVPN has become one of the most popular options in the industry thanks to the high security that it offers, as well as the fact that it is a zero logs provider. This Panama-based provider offers a great selection of features that are designed to keep your internet traffic secure and ensure that you can bypass blocks effectively. NordVPN also offers great customer support and access to servers in 61 countries, including Portugal.
PureVPN
If you are looking for a provider with a great global coverage, you need to consider PureVPN. This provider based in Hong Kong, gives you access to servers in over 140 countries, giving you many chances to access international content. The service also adds a high level of encryption to your connection and thanks to the affordable plans available, PureVPN is a very popular solution around the world. In terms of speed, PureVPN also gets a good score so you will be able to enjoy online games, streaming and more, without issues.
