If you’re trying to use Snapchat with a VPN and it’s not working, your VPN is being blocked by the app.
Snapchat has started blocking VPNs because it allows customers to use the app in places where it’s banned. You’ll come across an error saying, “Oops, the network you are connected to has been temporarily blocked because of suspicious activity. If you are connected to a VPN, retry after disconnecting from it.”
Don’t panic, though. There are a number of fixes you can try to resolve this issue.
This article will explain how you can fix Snapchat not working with VPN so you can use the app anywhere in the world.
See also:
- Kik not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
- Instagram not working with VPN? Try these EASY fixes! (2023)
Snapchat not working with VPN: Fixes
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Delete Cookies
Snapchat uses Cookies to streamline your online experience. An example of this is Cookies are used to store your login information so you don’t have to log in every time you open Snapchat.
Cookies aren’t malicious files. They’re small files used to make your experience better with Snapchat. The problem is these Cookies contain information about your location.
Snapchat can potentially access this information to determine if you’re using a VPN or not.
If the information stored on your Cookies shows a different IP address to the one your VPN has given you, the app knows you’re using a VPN, and it will block it.
A good place to start when trying to fix Snapchat not working with VPN is deleting your Cookies.
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Clear Snapchat Cache
The Snapchat cache is a temporary storage area allowing you to quickly access your data.
For Snapchat, the cache is used for photo files, messages and many other files.
Often files inside the cache can become problematic and bugged, which will cause problems when using the app with a VPN. It can also quickly run out of storage space which will slow the app down.
To ensure Snapchat is running at its best, it’s best to clear the cache. This will remove any problematic files causing Snapchat to not work with your VPN.
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Change to a different server
If you’re still running into issues using Snapchat with your VPN, try changing to a different server.
The reason you’re having trouble using Snapchat with your VPN is because the current IP address your VPN has given you has been blocked by the app.
Changing to a different server will give you a new IP address, and if this one hasn’t been blocked, you’ll be able to use Snapchat with your VPN again.
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Upgrade to a more reliable VPN
If you’ve made it this far in the list, then Snapchat has managed to block all of your VPN’s IP addresses.
This has happened because your VPN doesn’t have measures in place to ensure Snapchat can’t block all of its IP addresses.
The best way to fix Snapchat not working with VPN is to upgrade to a VPN that’s still compatible with the app.
ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) has fast servers all over the world, and most importantly, it has measures in place that will stop all of its IP addresses from being blocked by Snapchat.
When an IP address is blocked by Snapchat, ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) closes that IP address and opens a new one ensuring you can use the VPN to access Snapchat reliably wherever you are.
Does Snapchat block VPNs?
Yes, Snapchat has started blocking VPNs. It does this because it deems a customer using a VPN to access the app as suspicious activity.
Because a VPN can potentially allow a customer to use Snapchat in a location where it’s banned, Snapchat tries to block VPNs from accessing its platform.
You’ll know your VPN has been blocked if you come across an error like “Oops, the network you are connected to has been temporarily blocked because of suspicious activity. If you are connected to a VPN, retry after disconnecting from it.”
How does Snapchat block VPNs?
Snapchat constantly monitors the IP addresses connecting to its servers. It does this for a number of reasons, like monitoring spam, using Snapchat in prohibited ways and also because it’s looking for an abnormal number of connections coming from the same IP address.
See, most VPNs have more customers than IP addresses. This means when you use a VPN, it’s highly unlikely you’re the only one using the IP address you’ve been given. There could potentially be hundreds or even thousands of other customers using the same IP address as you.
When this happens, it’s incredibly easy for Snapchat to know that you’re using an IP address provided by a VPN. Usually, only a household’s worth of devices will connect to Snapchat using the same IP address.
As soon as Snapchat sees more than a household of connections (8-10), it deems it as abnormal usage. It knows it’s a VPN IP address, and it blocks your connection. This is when you’ll run into the “Oops, the network you are connected to has been temporarily blocked because of suspicious activity. If you are connected to a VPN, retry after disconnecting from it” error.
Does Snapchat work with a VPN?
Snapchat still works with VPNs. However, you need to use a VPN that can stay ahead of Snapchat’s VPN blocks.
VPNs like ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) are very good at this.
These VPNs work reliably with Snapchat because they play a game and cat and mouse with the app.
If an IP address provided by ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) or NordVPN ($3.19/month) is blocked by Snapchat, both ExpressVPN ($6.67/month) and NordVPN ($3.19/month) will close that IP and open a new one.
This means there will always be an IP address for you to connect to, allowing you to use Snapchat from anywhere in the world reliably with a VPN.
The best VPNs for Snapchat
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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Get 3 extra months free when you sign up for a 12-month ExpressVPN plan. That’s 15 months in total for the price of 12.
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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(30-day money-back guarantee)
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
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
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
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for a 3-year plan with Private Internet Access and save 83% + 3 months free. That works out at $2.03/month.
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
Special Offer for you!
Sign up for Ivacy and enjoy a 7-day trial with no strings attached
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.
Special Offer – 7-day FREE trial!
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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
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
Take advantage of CyberGhost’s 1-day FREE TRIAL!
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.
SPECIAL OFFER – 1-DAY FREE TRIAL
(30-day money-back guarantee)
