ChatGPT has been blocked in Italy. If you try and access the program, you’ll come across an error saying “Access denied. You do not have access to chat.openai.com. The site owner may have set restrictions that prevent you from accessing the site”
In this article, we’re going to show you how to use ChatGPT in Italy.
The Italian Data Protection Authority cited privacy concerns as its reason for banning OpenAI’s ChatGPT software.If you use ChatGPT for work, or are an international traveller who is passing through Italy, or both (!) the move will no doubt be frustrating. Don’t panic, though – there’s an easy way to get around this issue.
All you need to do is make it look like you’re connecting to the internet from a different location. This means you need to change your Italian IP address to an IP address from a different country.
The easiest way to do this is with a reliable VPN. This article will explain how to use ChatGPT in Italy with a VPN so you can get around the Italian government’s blocks.
How to use ChatGPT in Italy: Quick Guide
To use ChatGPT in Italy, you need to make it look like you’re connecting to the program from within a different country.
To do that, you need to change your IP address. Follow these simple steps to use ChatGPT in Italy:
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Create a new account with ExpressVPN ($6.67/month)
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Download and install the new VPN app
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Select a server in a country where ChatGPT isn’t blocked (we recommend France)
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Access ChatGPT in Italy
Why is ChatGPT blocked in Italy?
Italy has blocked ChatGPT because the Italian data-protection authority claims there are privacy concerns relating to the program.
Reuters reports that Italy’s “Data Protection Authority on Friday temporarily banned the chatbot”, adding that a probe had also been launched “over the artificial intelligence application’s suspected breach of privacy rules.”
The Data Protection Authority said ChatGPT had an “absence of any legal basis that justifies the massive collection and storage of personal data”.
How does ChatGPT know I’m in Italy?
This is all to do with your IP address.
When you go online, you’re allocated a unique IP address. This is a bit of code used by your device to communicate with the online service you’re visiting, in this case, ChatGPT.
The problem with this system is in order for your device and the online service to communicate. Your IP address needs to contain information regarding your location. If you’re in Italy, your IP address will show you’re in Italy. If you’re in the US, your IP address will show you’re in the US and so on.
When you connect to ChatGPT, it scans your IP address and figures out your location. If your IP address shows you’re in Italy, the program will block your connection, and you’ll come across an error saying “Access denied.”
How can I get around the Italy ChatGPT block?
To get around the ChatGPT block in Italy, you need to make it look like you’re not connecting to the program from within Italy. You need to make it look like you’re based in a different country.
To do that, you need to change your Italian IP address to a different IP address. We recommend France.
The good news is this is incredibly easy. All you need is a reliable VPN. The best VPNs for unblocking ChatGPT in Italy are ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month).
These VPNs are easy to use. All you need to do is download ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month), connect to a server in a different country (we recommend France), and within seconds you’ll be allocated an IP address in that country.
Now when you visit ChatGPT in Italy, and it scans your IP address, it will think you’re in a different location, and you’ll be able to access the program.
Will any VPN work with ChatGPT in Italy?
The Italian government’s ChatGPT blocks are incredibly serious OpenAI, the company/developer that owns ChatGPT, now has 20 days to respond to the Italian government or will face a fine of up to 20 million euros or 4% of its annual worldwide turnover.
Because of this, ChatGPT tries to block VPNs from accessing its service. OpenAI isn’t taking the block lightly and has undergone strict measures to try and prevent VPNs from accessing its platform.
VPNs are very common, and OpenAI is well aware that they will allow customers to use ChatGPT in Italy. This could result in OpenAI facing similar fines it’s facing at the moment. So to protect itself, OpenAI tries to block VPNs from accessing the platform.
These blocks are obviously incredibly difficult for VPNs to get around, and lesser, especially free VPNs, will struggle when trying to access ChatGPT in Italy.
The good news is there are VPNs out there that have the infrastructure and financial backing to allow you to use ChatGPT in Italy.
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) are very good at unblocking ChatGPT in Italy. This is because they have measures in place to ensure they work reliably with the software.
If ChatGPT manages to block an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month), these VPNs will close that IP address and open a new unblocked one so there’s always one for you to use. This will allow you to use ChatGPT in Italy reliably without issue.
The best VPNs for ChatGPT in Italy
1. ExpressVPN 🥇
Why You Should Use ExpressVPN? It’s the fastest and MOST reliable VPN of 2023
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
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Number of servers: 3,000+ | Speed: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 160 in 94 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $6.66/month for 15 months
- $9.99/month for 6 months
- $12.95/month for 1 month
ExpressVPN ($6.66/month) is still the best VPN. And importantly, it ALWAYS has servers that are open with major streaming sites such as Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Amazon Prime Video, etc.
ExpressVPN is usually very good at playing Cat and Mouse with online streaming sites. Meaning, whenever one of its servers is blacklisted it creates a new one – giving its users a constant stream of servers that aren’t blocked. Needless to say, this is a valuable attribute if you’re looking for a VPN to unblock streaming sites.
Its app is easy-to-use and free to download on pretty much any device you can think of. Mac, Windows, iOS, Android, FireStick, Android TV, Roku, PS4, Xbox, Linux, even Apple TV (with a workaround). It’s got it all covered.
The app is another main reason this VPN is so good at unblocking TV streaming sites (that claim they block VPNs) is that its software takes a pragmatic approach to user management. While other VPNs tempt customers by promising them access to hundreds/thousands of servers in multiple countries, ExpressVPN does things differently.
With ExpressVPN you only have a handful of server locations to choose from. Once you select your location the app takes care of the rest. Assigning you to the fastest available server that’s not oversubscribed. This simple technique is so important, as it keeps ExpressVPN’s servers operating at lightning-fast speeds and prevents its IPs from getting blacklisted for “abnormal” usage in the first place.
Check out our full ExpressVPN review.
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2. NordVPN 🥈
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ No logs
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 6-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ No refunds for purchases from iTunes/App store
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Number of servers: 5,000+ | Speeds: >80% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 62 countries | Devices supported: 6 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $3.49/month for 2 years
- $6.99/month for 1 year
- $11.95/month for 1 month
NordVPN is the most widely-used VPN in the world. And it’s easy to see why. It’s a polished app that delivers fast connections (more on this later) to a massive network of VPN servers.
It’s the most reliable at unblocking popular streaming services too – US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, BBC iPlayer, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. This is because NordVPN hired a full-time technical team (that’s responsible for monitoring its servers’ connections with popular TV streaming services) and has been aggressively investing in its network of IP addresses in key locations.
Another interesting thing to note is that NordVPN is an industry leader in its development of Nordlynx technology. Nordlynx is built using the WireGuard, a new VPN tunneling protocol designed to outperform current standards (OpenVPN and IPSec). The benefits, according to NordVPN, are dramatically faster transfer speeds while connected to a VPN. My tests – New Zealand to London – confirm that Nordlynx is currently the fastest VPN on the market. However, the difference isn’t dramatic, a few Mbps is all.
Read our NordVPN review.
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3. Private Internet Access
The BEST low-cost VPN for streaming!
Pros
- ✅ Fast and reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 10-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- ❌ Only 48 server locations
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Number of servers: 25,000+ | Speed: >75% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 70 in 74 countries | Devices supported: 10 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.03/month for 3 years
- $7.50/month for 6 months
- $11.99/month for 1 month
Private Internet Access is one of the leading no-log VPN services with over 1-million paying customers.
This VPN is one of the best in the industry at beating streaming sites’ VPN bans. It provides reliable connections with US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, HBO Max, Disney+ Amazon Prime Video, etc. It also allows 10 simultaneous devices to be connected to its servers at the same time, so you can share the account with your close friends.
If – for whatever reason – you’re not happy with Private Internet Access, there’s a 24/7 live chat support available to assist you with your problem. PIA also offers the industry-standard 30-day money-back guarantee.
From my tests (from New Zealand) I was able to get download speeds of 70 Mbps while connected to a UK server using the Private Internet Access VPN (my non-VPN speed is 100 Mbps).
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4. Ivacy
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ Fast servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ Dedicated streaming servers
- ✅ 5-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ 24/7 Live Chat
Cons
- ❌ Only 5 devices
- ❌ Sometimes runs slow
- ❌ Occasionally block by streaming sites for several days
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Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $1.16/month for 5 years
- $3.50/month for 1 year
- $9.99/month for 1 month
If you’re looking for an excellent VPN, with an even better price tag, Ivacy ($1.16/month) is a great option.
This VPN has all the features you need to stream BBC iPlayer, in HD, from any country in the world. I’ve been testing the app recently on Mac, PC, Android, iOS and FireStick and the results have been impressive – unlocking BBC iPlayer, US Netflix, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, etc. with ease.
The Ivacy app is a little different in regards to its UX (user experience). Instead of just selecting a UK server, you need to select the specific BBC iPlayer server. Don’t worry, this isn’t a bad thing – by connecting to a dedicated BBC iPlayer server, it simply means that you’re connecting to an IP address that Ivacy knows works with BBC iPlayer.
For an extra $1.99/month (£1.74) you can add-on a dedicated IP. This will buy you sole access to an IP address in a country of your choice, meaning you won’t have to share your IP (and speeds) with any other use. I don’t recommend this though, using the regular Ivacy servers is enough 95 per cent of the time.
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5. CyberGhost
A very quick and trustworthy VPN
Pros
- ✅ 1-day free trial
- ✅ Reliable servers
- ✅ Thousands of IP addresses
- ✅ 7-simultaneous connections
- ✅ 30-day money-back guarantee
- ✅ Easy-to-use app
Cons
- ❌ Expensive
- ❌ Average speed scores
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Number of servers: 1,000+ | Speed: >65% | Bandwidth: Unlimited | IP locations: 275 in 100 countries | Devices supported: 5 | Live chat: Yes | 30-day money-back guarantee: Yes
- $2.75/month for 3 years
- $3.69/month for 2 years
- $5.99/month for 1 year
- $12.99/month for 1 month
CyberGhost is one of the more established VPNs on the market. It has a well-established, and well-tested global network of servers that perform well.
From my tests over the past several months, CyberGhost has no trouble at unblocking major streaming services – US Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Hulu, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max etc. This VPN performed well at maintaining download speeds, well above 65 per cent of my regular (non VPN) ISP speed.
That said, there’s nothing really unique about the service. Which forces you to look at its price-point. And there’s nothing special here. Its short-term $12.99/month price tag puts is well above the industry average of $10.10/month. Similarly, its long-term $2.75/month for 3 years deal isn’t much of a “deal” either.
Oddly, CyberGhost’s most unique feature is its a 1-day, no obligations, free trial. This is an appealing offer to customers who are new to VPNs. However, it’s important to remember that most reputable VPNs will offer customers a 30-day money-back guarantee, so try not to be too seduced by the offer.
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