How to Unblock Pornhub in North Carolina (With Privacy)

Are you in North Carolina and upset about House Bill 8, the law that cost you access to Pornhub? If so, you are probably looking for a safe and reliable solution that can unblock Pornhub in North Carolina. Well you are in luck.

The solution lies in using a VPN to easily get through the blocks, allowing you to anonymously and securely avoid the entire problem. In this guide we will introduce you to four VPNs that can help you do exactly that. Our guide offers practical advice without the fluff—simple, effective, and straight to the point.

Key Takeaways

• The implementation of House Bill 8 in North Carolina has caused Pornhub to block access for anyone located in the state.

• By using a quality VPN (virtual private network), you can make Pornhub think that you are not located in North Carolina or anywhere else where Pornhub is blocked.
• While many VPNs can do this location-switching trick, only a few have the combination of features that make visiting Pornhub a private, secure, and enjoyable experience.
• Based on our testing, the best VPN for unblocking Pornhub in North Carolina is NordVPN. It delivers the necessary features, along with a ton of extras, all at a surprisingly low price. Right now you can get NordVPN with a 74% discount here.

Navigating the Pornhub Blockade in North Carolina

North Carolina’s digital landscape dramatically shifted when the North Carolina porn law, House Bill 8, came into effect. The law demands rigorous age verification for anyone attempting to access adult websites. This not only makes visiting adult sites a hassle; it creates a serious privacy risk.

North Carolina residents who submit age verification data now need to trust that every adult site they visit will handle their personal information properly. This essentially puts you in a database porn site users. In order to avoid the privacy risks and legal risks associated with strict age verification, Pornhub is now blocking all North Carolina residents.

The key to avoiding all these problems lies in the clever use of a VPN. One of the main benefits of VPNs is their ability to make it appear you are somewhere you are not. To understand how this neat trick works, you need to understand how a website can tell where you are located. If you already know how this trick works, feel free to skip the following explanation. If not, the box below tells the tale.

NordVPN has emerged as a leader in this quest for unblocking Pornhub in North Carolina and elsewhere. You already know the basics of how NordVPN and its competitors can get you around the ban. But there is more to being a great VPN for unblocking Pornhub than simply having VPN servers in the right locations. So let’s talk about the things a VPN needs to get onto this elite list.

What Makes a VPN a Great VPN for Unblocking Pornhub in North Carolina

If you want a VPN that is secure enough to protect your privacy against hackers and other snoops, your options are limited to a select few top VPNs. Likewise if you want a secure no-logs VPN that has been independently audited, your options are smaller still. Finally, if you want a VPN that can handle the above and still be fast enough to stream HD Pornhub content without pauses, stutters, or reduced video quality, our testing shows that the number of options you have is limited to the four VPNs below.

Here are important things your VPN should include:

• Strong encryption – A VPN cannot guarantee your privacy if it does not use strong encryption standards. Most top VPNs now use VPN protocols that include very strong AES-256 or ChaCha20 encryption.
• Secure VPN protocols – VPN protocols control the interactions between your devices and VPN servers. All the VPNs profiled in this article support the OpenVPN protocol. OpenVPN is secure, but is being superseded by newer, more secure protocols. Each of the VPNs in this article supports one of these newer protocols in addition to OpenVPN.
• No-logs policy audited by a reputable third party – To protect your privacy against subpoenas and government orders, your VPN should have a no-logs policy that has been audited by a reputable third party. Many VPNs have no-logs policies, but more than one of those was eventually found to have been logging user data despite their stated policies. An audit be a reputable third party such as KPMG, Deloitte, or Cure53 is the only way to know the truth.
• Fast VPN connection speeds – None of the things we have talked about so far or are about to talk about will matter much if a VPN is too slow to stream HD content from Pornhub.
• Unlimited bandwidth – Believer it or not, there are still some VPNs that limit the amount of data you can download in a month. Imagine getting halfway through the month and then hitting your download limit. Only VPNs that allow unlimited downloads are worth considering for this job.

The above are the minimum set of things a VPN needs for unblocking Pornhub. However, here are some other things that you should look for if you want to have a secure, private connection to Pornhub, and perhaps use your new VPN for other things as well:

• Large, geographically dispersed VPN server network. We talked about this earlier. Lots of servers in lots of locations, including at least a dozen in the United States to give you more options as more and more states start imposing age verification rules.
• Double VPN (MultiHop) servers pass your internet traffic through two VPN servers in sequence, thereby encrypting your traffic twice and changing your IP address twice. This makes it much harder for even sophisticated attackers to figure out what you are doing online. For added protection, the servers are typically in different countries. On the downside, double VPN servers tend to be slower.
• Obfuscated servers disguise your VPN traffic as regular (HTTPS) internet traffic. Doing this makes it much harder for censors to spot your VPN traffic and block it.
• Ad-blocking is appearing in more and more of the top VPNs. This is a great feature for anyone visiting adult websites. Most VPN ad blockers don’t stop at blocking malicious ads, also attempting to knock out malware, trackers, and other similar unpleasantness.
• Private DNS servers replace the DNS servers provided by your ISP, and prevent your ISP from seeing which sites you visit. In the USA, ISPs can legally track the domain names you request from their DNS servers, and use or sell that information. Private DNS servers prevent that from happening.
• VPN Kill Switches instantly cut your internet traffic if there is a problem with the connection to a VPN server. This protects your privacy by preventing your real IP address from being exposed while the VPN connection is down.
• Split tunneling is a feature that lets you split internet traffic so that some goes through the VPN and some goes direct to the internet without passing through a VPN server. One place where this can be useful is connecting to some banks, as they reject VPN traffic. With split tunneling, you can connect directly to the bank website outside the VPN, while still being connected to Pornhub through the VPN.

In the following sections, we’ll explore the top VPN contenders that North Carolina residents can enlist in their quest to unblock Pornhub and safeguard their privacy.

NordVPN – The top choice to unblock Pornhub in North Carolina

When it comes to unblocking porn sites in North Carolina, NordVPN stands out as the vanguard of VPN services. It’s not just about regaining access to Pornhub; it’s about doing so with the assurance that your online activities are enshrouded in top-tier security. NordVPN’s no-logs policy has been audited multiple times by reputable third parties. Likewise these audits have shown that the physical network is highly secure. On top of that, NordVPN is based in Panama, one of the most privacy-friendly jurisdictions in the world.

NordVPN has tons of advanced features, but its VPN apps are not complicated to use for unblocking Pornhub (they look good too). Below we are testing out using a NordVPN server in New York to unblock Pornhub.

Given I already mentioned that NordVPN has a huge feature set, you won’t be surprised to hear that it provides all the features and capabilities we discussed earlier, as well as additional capabilities for every major VPN use case. Throughout our testing, NordVPN consistently ranked in the top three for every category. Here is just a sampling of the guides where NordVPN shines:

• Best No-Logs VPNS
• Best VPNs for Canada
• Best VPNs for China
• Best VPNs for Gaming
• Best VPNs for Netflix
• Best VPNs with Ad Blocking

As you can see, the team behind this service really did a good job.

The custom NordLynx protocol developed by NordVPN engineers combines the speed and security of the WireGuard VPN protocol with privacy enhancements, offering users the luxury of smooth, private, secure 4K streaming, even while sidestepping the NC age verification hassle.

The breadth of NordVPN’s server network is incredible, with over 6,400 servers across 111 countries, including 16 locations within the United States. This gives you more than enough options for getting around that annoying blockade. All NordVPN servers are fast, diskless machines with high-speed interconnections that simultaneously boost the privacy and the performance of the service.

See all NordVPN server locations here >

In case you were wondering what fast means in this context, here is a recent NordVPN speed test result where we hit download speeds over 750 Mbps!

Even better, NordVPN engineers have managed to build their network so that it delivers consistent speeds regardless of which server you connect to. While the distance between your device and the server does have an effect (a fact that will be important later) we never see huge differences in the speed of a connection. Other VPN services deliver wildly varying speeds depending on which specific server you connect to.

An interesting thing to note is that the same capabilities that make NordVPN so good for evading the NC age verification blockage, also make it a great VPN for streaming Netflix content from around the world. The technique is slightly different, but the result is that NordVPN can give you access to most Netflix regional libraries anywhere in the world, without ever leaving your sofa in North Carolina.

When it comes to ad blocking, the service provides NordVPN Threat Protection Pro. This is the new name for NordVPN Threat Protection. The new name is meant to convey that NordVPN’s product is superior to the ones provided by other VPN services, at least one of which has named their ad-blocker Threat Protection.

Most VPN services with ad blocking use DNS filtering to prevent users from connecting to dangerous websites. This level of protection keeps your devices from connecting to known malicious domains. Threat Protection Pro does this too, but it doesn’t stop there. It also checks for dangerous URLs and Javascript thereby blocking more trouble and more types of trouble. This intensive scanning is supported by a machine learning system that lets Threat Protection Pro adapt to new threats quickly.

As you can see, this NordVPN feature is constantly evolving. So don’t be surprised if what you see when you click the Threat Protection Pro icon looks different than the image below.

See all NordVPN features here >

NordVPN can clearly get the job done. But what if you need help for some reason? Over the years we’ve found NordVPN to provide excellent customer service through their 24/7 live chat support system. Like most such systems these days, you start out dealing with their automated system, but can quickly bypass that and talk to a live person when necessary.

Finally, let’s talk about the guarantee and the price. The guarantee is easy. NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee.

NordVPN pricing varies depending on which specific features you want, and the term of the subscription you choose. Like most VPNs, NordVPN offers the best pricing for the longest subscription, currently 2 years.

You can choose from three tiers: Complete, Plus, and Basic. The Basic plan includes NordVPN itself, and supports up to 10 simultaneous connections. The Plus and Complete plans include the Basic plan and Threat Protection Pro / Threat Protection, along with various additional features. Given that video streaming sites in general tend to harbor more malware, trackers, malicious ads, and so on, we recommend that people who visit Pornhub and other adult websites opt for either the Plus or the Complete plan in order to get Threat Protection.

Interested in visiting more than just Pornhub? Check out this guide to using NordVPN for viewing adult content in North Carolina. Get a fuller view of what NordVPN can do in our updated NordVPN review.

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Surfshark: A Worthy Alternative for Unblocking Porn Sites

Surfshark has emerged from the crowd of VPNs as a formidable contender, presenting North Carolina users with another effective solution for regaining access to Pornhub. With a proven track record of privacy, security, and speed, Surfshark can deliver a smooth Pornhub viewing experience, free from the annoyance of continual age verification requests.

Surfshark can also free you from the annoyance of malicious advertisements and other nastiness, thanks to its built-in Surfshark CleanWeb feature. And when it comes to embracing all your devices under one roof, Surfshark’s policy of unlimited simultaneous connections is a godsend, ensuring that none of your gadgets are left out of the adult entertainment loop.

Like NordVPN, Surfshark VPN relies on the security and performance of the WireGuard VPN protocol, enhanced with additional privacy protections. Combine all that with an audited no-logs policy and private DNS, and you can feel confident your privacy will be protected when you use Surfshark. During our testing, Surfshark averaged out to be about the same speed as NordVPN. Here is the best speed test result we got for it last time around:

The Surfshark VPN server network contains 3,200+ secure diskless VPN servers with locations in 100 countries. When thinking about connecting North Carolina residents to Pornhub, it is useful to know that Surfshark has server locations in 22 US cities. The network contains a range of specialty servers, including a large number of P2P (peer-to-peer) servers. Our tests have shown that Surfshark VPN is one of the best VPNs for Torrenting. If torrenting and other P2P activities are of interest to you, there is more information in our Surfshark for Torrenting guide.

All in all, Surfshark offers an impressive collection of features, benefits, and performance at a very low price while allowing unlimited simultaneous connections. If you are responsible for a large number of devices that connect to the internet and need VPN support, or you are simply looking to get the most VPN for the least amount of money, Surfshark is worth your consideration.

Surfshark’s 30-day money-back guarantee and 24/7 live chat support make it easy for you to test the service in your own home with your own equipment. If you use the coupon below to try Surfshark, you will be able to subscribe at the lowest price currently available.

Learn more about this service in our recently updated Surfshark VPN review.

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ExpressVPN: Simple, Reliable Access to Pornhub

ExpressVPN, while it may not boast the same advanced features as NordVPN or Surfshark, provides a straightforward and dependable bridge to the wonders of Pornhub. It’s not flashy, but it is reliable. Despite being a bit slower than the other VPNs covered here, ExpressVPN is still swift enough to deliver your adult content without hiccups, ensuring that your experience watching porn remains pleasurable and uninterrupted.

For North Carolina residents looking for an easy way to get back Pornhub access, the simplicity of ExpressVPN is a major draw. There aren’t all the bells and whistles that can frustrate casual users. Its apps are clean and simple, as you can see below. They also look remarkably similar on every type of device further reducing stress levels.

Let’s circle back to ExpressVPN’s speed again. The service is much faster than it used to be, and more secure too. That’s thanks to the company’s Lightway protocol. ExpressVPN running Lightway is faster than the majority of VPNs on the market. Here’s the best recent speed test result.

Unfortunately for ExpressVPN, in this article it is being compared against the three fastest VPNs to ever grace our test facility. A race between ExpressVPN and NordVPN, or ExpressVPN and Surfshark would be no contest. It’s almost not fair.

Happily, ExpressVPN still has enough speed to handle HD video with no problems. Here’s ExpressVPN streaming BBC iPlayer without any problems, despite the thousands of miles between our facility and the UK, where BBC iPlayer is based.

Like NordVPN and CyberGhost, ExpressVPN has built a network of thousands of fast, RAM-only servers, and those servers are distributed throughout facilities in 105 different countries. Even more relevant to us today, ExpressVPN has servers in 12 states within the United States. That is fewer states than some of the other services cover, but they do have locations in New York, California, and Illinois, none of which have Pornhub restrictions as of now.

ExpressVPN has a history of protecting your privacy with both technological solutions (kill switches, diskless servers, private DNS etc.) and with a solid no-logs policy. They back these up with continuous third-party audits of the no-logs policy, and every aspect of the network. ExpressVPN conducts more audits than even other major services like NordVPN and ProtonVPN do, ensuring that your internet activity remains your business alone. The company provides excellent custom service with its 24/7 live chat support system, as well as a 30-day money-back guarantee.

As far as pricing goes, ExpressVPN is one of the more expensive VPN services on the market. Even their lowest price plan (a 1-year subscription) and our special discount, the service still costs well over $6 per month. That said, if you are looking for a simple and reliable way to regain Pornhub access, ExpressVPN could be worth a look.

If your VPN interests go beyond simply unblocking Pornhub and other porn sites, you’ll want to read this full ExpressVPN review.

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IPVanish: Another Reliable VPN Service for Adult Content

IPVanish joins this list with a mix of the best features of the other three, along with a few tricks of its own. We’ve seen that NordVPN and Surfshark are both fast. Well, at least in one test, IPVanish was significantly faster than either of them. If you recall, NordVPN had a top download speed of 755 Mbps while Surfshark hit 752 Mbps. IPVanish on the other hand, delivered this score:

On this one test, IPVanish easily crushed even the might NordVPN. However, the results IPVanish delivered during testing were all over the place. When we averaged the best speed test scores each VPN turned in on our standard links (lab to Seattle, Los Angeles, New York, and London) NordVPN and Surfshark averaged 649 Mbps, while IPVanish hit 532 Mbps.

Another thing to consider with IPVanish is the size of their VPN server fleet. As of now, they have over 2,400 servers spread across 56 countries. Within the USA, IPVanish has 20 server locations, with more than one in a state in a few cases. And like ExpressVPN and the other services covered here, they do have locations in New York, California, and Illinois, so you are sure to be able to find a location that gives you access to Pornhub.

IPVanish is like ExpressVPN in that it gives you all the key features needed for safely visiting Pornhub, without a lot of extras that you won’t need for this mission. And IPVanish is like Surfshark in that it provides unlimited simultaneous connections, despite a low, cheap VPN level price.

As far as unique IPVanish features, the big one is its custom app that gives support for Apple TV. If viewing Pornhub on the big screen is your thing, IPVanish is one of the best VPNs for Apple TV.

With speed, simplicity, unlimited simultaneous connections, competitive pricing, 24/7 chat support, and a 30-day money-back guarantee on longer subscriptions, IPVanish beckons to North Carolinians as yet another option for secure and anonymous access to Pornhub content.

You can get a broader perspective on this service by reading our IPVanish VPN review.

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Step-by-Step Guide to Using VPNs for Watching Porn in NC

Now, it’s time to move from the theoretical to the practical. We are going to walk through the process for regaining your lost access to Pornhub. We will use NordVPN for the example, but the process is quite similar whichever VPN you choose.

The first few steps are standard:

1. Secure a subscription to NordVPN. For the best savings, use this 74% off coupon.
2. Download and install the NordVPN app on your chosen device.

3. Normally, the next step would be to connect to a VPN server location. But we need to talk before you do this.

The rules of thumb for choosing which VPN server to connect to go something like this:

• If you are connecting to a streaming service like BBC iPlayer, connect to a VPN server in the geographic region that BBC iPlayer supports.
• If you are connecting to a streaming service like Netflix that has different types of content in different geographic regions, connect to a VPN server in the region where the specific content you want is hosted.
• If you are using the VPN to increase security and privacy for general internet use, choose a VPN server that is physically close to your actual location for the best performance.

As we discussed earlier, Pornhub uses the IP address that is included in your internet traffic to decide whether or not to block you. This means that you should choose a VPN server that is close to you. However, since North Carolina is not the only service trying to control access to Pornhub, you must also choose a VPN server in a location where Pornhub is allowed to operate without restrictions.

You can poke around on your own, trying different locations to see if you can get unrestricted access to Pornhub. But the easiest thing to do is simply connect to a VPN server location in New York. As of June 2024, New York was one of the states with no restrictions on access to Pornhub.

Once you are connected to the appropriate VPN serve location, launch your browser and surf on over to Pornhub. You are ready to go.

Summary

In this article we covered everything you need to know to once again get access to Pornhub, despite living in a state that has managed to get itself blocked from perhaps the biggest adult website in the world.

We talked about how Pornhub knows you are from NC so it can block you. We also talked about how a VPN can get your around this blockade, thanks to an ability to make websites think you are somewhere you are not.

Then we talked about NordVPN, which based on our tests is the best service for North Carolina residents to get access to Pornhub. We also touched on three other VPN services that can get the job done if, for some reason, NordVPN doesn’t appeal to you. Finally, we walked you through the entire process of installing a VPN, choosing a VPN server that won’t get blocked by Pornhub, and finally reconnecting with your favorite adult site.

In short, there is no reason for North Carolina residents to continue to live without Pornhub. A VPN is the ticket for adults to access the content they want with complete privacy and security.

Related articles on RestorePrivacy:

• Best VPNs for Porn
• How to Unblock Porn Websites
• Best VPNs for Pornhub
• How to Unblock Pornhub
• How to Unblock Pornhub in Louisiana
• How to Unblock Pornhub in Florida
• How to Unblock Pornhub in Indiana
• How to Unblock Pornhub in Texas
• How to Unblock Pornhub in Virginia

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about how North Carolinians can visit Pornhub despite the new blockade of people connecting from NC.

Is it legal to use a VPN to access Pornhub in North Carolina?

Yes, it is legal to use a VPN to access Pornhub in North Carolina as there are no specific state laws prohibiting it.

Are there any privacy risks associated with the age verification requirements for adult websites in NC?

Yes, there are privacy concerns related to uploading ID cards for age verification, and alternative, less intrusive methods have been advocated for by companies.

Can a free VPN provide the same level of security and performance as a paid VPN?

No, free VPNs do not offer the same level of security and performance as paid VPNs due to potential logging of activity data, limited servers, and lack of advanced security features.

This guide to unblocking the Pornhub website while living in North Carolina was last updated June 20, 2024.