If you're a university student – or frequent library-goer for that matter – you may have heard of Kanopy. It's a great streaming platform with thousands of titles to choose from.
However, depending on where you are in the world, you may need to download a VPN to keep you safe whilst you scroll through Kanopy – and that's what we're going to talk about today.
Best Kanopy VPN services in 2024
Below we have listed the best VPN services for Kanopy. For more details check out our detailed summaries of each service.
- ExpressVPN - This is the best VPN for Kanopy. Reliable, consistently speedy and famed for its security and unblocking ability.
- NordVPN - A good value VPN and great for unblock Kanopy. It's lightning-quick provider that is, in turn, excellent for streaming securely.
- Surfshark - The cheapest VPN on our list. It's a cost-effective VPN for Kanopy that lets you use one account on an unlimited devices.
- Private Internet Access - The most secure VPN for Kanopy. It's A good choice to use with Kanopy, with a huge number of servers to connect through.
- CyberGhost VPN - An easy to use VPN for Kanopy. It's A great VPN to use for Kanopy with a superb approach to preserving user privacy.
The advantages of using a VPN for Kanopy?
Kanopy is available across the world – it has different landing pages for the UK, US, Middle East, Europe, and even worldwide. It has over 30,000 titles available, from modern classics to some of the most recent releases on the market.
However, Kanopy – or one of the movies on it – might be banned in your country, especially if you live under an authoritarian and/or oppressive regime that censors a lot of content and punishes people for watching it. If you're an international student from a country with a government like this and you've attended university in the US or Europe, for example, you may find that Kanopy is not available or even dangerous to access when you get back home.
The site has also, unfortunately, exposed the viewing habits of its users in the past through revealing IP addresses. This means it's worth getting a VPN if you'd like to ensure your movie choices are kept to yourself – wherever you may be in the world.
Whether you want to watch a movie your government might not like, or you just want your viewing experience to be as private as possible, a VPN is the solution. VPNs reroute all your traffic through private servers around the world, masking your IP address in the process. All the sites you visit – including Kanopy – will see the IP address of the server rather than your device. They have a tonne of other uses too – and we'll discuss them further down.
The best VPNs for Kanopy | In-depth Analysis
Here's a closer look at the best VPNs for pairing with Kanopy. I've tried to tease out their key features for you to help you make your decision.
ExpressVPN is the best VPN for Kanopy. It is a top-class all rounder that will keep your browsing habits private and your data secure when you use Kanopy. ExpressVPN is a great choice if you want to stay safe and secure whilst using Kanopy. It utilizes AES-256 bit encryption, the most widely used and robust encryption standard available, and equip their users with a kill-switch, which means your internet connection will automatically drop if your VPN disconnects. All ExpressVPN's servers use TrustedServer Technology, which means they run on RAM only, which means nothing is ever written to hard drives. They even use a private DNS on every server, so if you're watching a show on Kanopy that your government might not be a huge fan of, you won't have to worry. ExpressVPN provides consistently good speeds for its users, and in my personal experience, I've always found streaming a smooth and trouble-free experience; it's definitely one of the most all-rounded and comprehensive services available on the market. There's a reason why it's held in such high regard – but if you don't believe me, or even the reviews, you can try it out for yourself thanks to the provider's 30-day money-back guarantee. NordVPN is a lightning-quick provider that will not only provide you with a great streaming experience but also a tonne of innovative security features to match. NordVPN is all about speed – when we conduct our daily speed tests, this provider is usually first or second out of a cohort that includes many of the best VPNs on the market. This makes it ideal for pairing not just with Kanopy, but any other streaming service you'd like to access. For example, NordVPN is really good at unblocking different Netflix libraries, which will vastly expand your streaming capabilities. Of course, NordVPN wouldn't be a provider I'd recommend without adequate security features, but this is another area where NordVPN excels. I really like their Double VPN function, which you might find useful if you want to watch a movie through Kanopy and you're not sure if it's banned in your country. Double VPN reroutes your connection through two of NordVPN's servers instead of one for an extra layer of protection. NordVPN also has a great anti-malware tool called CyberSec, as well as the full spread of standard security features you'd expect from a top-class provider. A 30-day money-back guarantee is also afforded to indecisive customers (like myself!) who just want to take the service for a spin before they decide. Surfshark is cheap and cheerful, thanks to a wealth of security features and speeds to rival providers like NordVPN. Surfshark's the provider for you if you want to watch Kanopy or access any other streaming service securely, from a number of devices. Surfshark's USP is that it offers unlimited simultaneous connections, so you can dish your login details out to your family, or even go halves or thirds to a subscription with your friends (making it even cheaper!). Surfshark has over 3,200 servers spread across more than 65 countries, so the streaming possibilities are almost endless. In terms of security, Surfshark can rub shoulders with the priciest of providers. 'Camouflage Mode' will be particularly useful if you're worried you might be watching TV shows your government has censored - it means even your internet service provider won't know you're using a VPN, ensuring your traffic just looks like standard traffic. They also offer a Multi-Hop tool that functions similarly to NordVPN's Double VPN and operates exclusively diskless servers, so you can trust its no-logs claims. The provider also offers a 30-day money-back guarantee so take it for a test run and try out the features yourself. Private Internet Access is a highly-regarded VPN with a huge server network in the US and beyond, making it a great companion for streaming. Private Internet Access (PIA) has had its no-logs claim proven in court, which is great news if you're concerned about your privacy in relation to your Kanopy viewing. It also deploys AES-256 bit encryption and its own DNS service, as well as widely-provided features like a kill-switch. PIA has apps for all platforms and allows simultaneous connections on up to 10 devices, which is the most out of all the providers listed in this article bar Surfshark. All its servers are bare metal (which means PIA is the only client using it), another impressive security plus. PIA has an impressively sized server network. They have over 20,000 in 78 countries, and more servers in the US than most providers have worldwide. This makes it a great choice for accessing sites like Kanopy not just safely and securely, but quickly too – streaming in HD isn't a problem for PIA. To top it all off, PIA also offers a month-long money-back guarantee for you to take advantage of. CyberGhost VPN have had a foot in the VPN game for 15 years now, and its commendable approach to customer privacy and security has never wavered. CyberGhost VPN has a great track record of unblocking other popular streaming services, and with servers in 88 countries, you'll have a hell of a lot to choose from. You can use the same account on up to 7 devices at the same time, so it's a good choice if you have family or friends who also want the benefit of a VPN. CyberGhost now has the modern WireGuard encryption protocol available on all its clients, and they don't store any connection or browsing logs which is a big plus for the privacy-conscious. It also offers the longest money-back guarantee period out of any of the providers on this list, affording prospective long-time users 45 days to decide whether to make their investment permanent. 1. ExpressVPN
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What do I need to access Kanopy?
Kanopy is a streaming service designed for students who have attended universities in the US, and people who have memberships to public libraries. This means to sign up and log into the site you will need either your:
- University name and ID/login credentials
- Your library name and PIN/password
Kanopy has a register of affiliated organizations and it will ask you to pick yours from a search menu, which includes thousands of institutions. According to the site's terms and conditions, a very limited amount of titles are available to the general public, but without an affiliated university log-in, you won't be able to access the vast majority of their quite sizeable library.
What to look for in a VPN for Kanopy
For Kanopy specifically, it would be advised to look for a VPN provider that has:
- Excellent security features to keep you safe
- A kill-switch so you're always protected when connected
- Fast connections and download speeds for streaming
However, VPNs have a much wider remit than just keeping you safe and secure whilst scrolling through Kanopy. They're great for unblocking Netflix libraries from around the world that would usually be geo-restricted, and you can also use them to do things like download games that are released much earlier in different countries. The possibilities are honestly endless!
Setting up your VPN and getting onto Kanopy
- Sign up for one of the VPN services mentioned in this article.
- Download the provider's software onto your chosen device.
- Connect to one of the servers in the US, Europe, or any other location where Kanopy is available.
- Head over to the Kanopy website as usual via your browser.
- Log in to the site using your university/library details.
And that's all! You'll now be able to watch Kanopy wherever you are in the world, safe in the knowledge that your data will be kept safe and secure.
What else does a VPN do?
We touched on this earlier on, but it's important to remember that an investment in a VPN subscription does a hell of a lot more than simply unblock one website. I've already mentioned the increased freedom you get when it comes to sites like Netflix, but good VPNs (like the ones in this article) will also:
- Give you increased protection on public Wi-Fi networks
- Let you access geo-restricted newspapers and other media
- Ensure you're not being bandwidth throttled by your internet provider
- Help you search for cheaper transport tickets and video games
- Give you advanced protection against malware threats
- Consistently and effectively block adverts
How do I know my VPN is working?
If you've got yourself a VPN from the list above, then that's a great start. Now, it's a good idea to check if it's working – VPNs run in the background and are essentially just rerouting your connection, so it's not always 100% clear if a VPN is on (unless you have your kill-switch turned on).
If you'd like to check if everything's in working condition, head over to our leak test page for confirmation that you've set everything up correctly!
Final thoughts
VPNs make for a better online experience. They promote freedom and privacy and, with sites like Kanopy, they can ensure your safety is preserved, particularly if you live in parts of the world where digital liberty is minimal. If you're still unsure of which VPN provider you'd like to go with, here's a quick reminder of our top picks:
- ExpressVPN - This is the best VPN for Kanopy. Reliable, consistently speedy and famed for its security and unblocking ability.
- NordVPN - A good value VPN and great for unblock Kanopy. It's lightning-quick provider that is, in turn, excellent for streaming securely.
- Surfshark - The cheapest VPN on our list. It's a cost-effective VPN for Kanopy that lets you use one account on an unlimited devices.
- Private Internet Access - The most secure VPN for Kanopy. It's A good choice to use with Kanopy, with a huge number of servers to connect through.
- CyberGhost VPN - An easy to use VPN for Kanopy. It's A great VPN to use for Kanopy with a superb approach to preserving user privacy.