Best VPN service for Amazon Fire TV Stick in 2022 – CNET [CNET]

Amazon Fire TV devices are an easy way to binge-watch your favorite movies and TV shows, but do you really need to use a VPN, or virtual private network, on your Fire TV Stick? If you care about your privacy, want to get past streaming service geoblocking, and don’t want advertisers to treat you like data-producing livestock, then yes, we strongly recommend you use a Fire TV Stick VPN. 

Long gone are the days of viewer anonymity that we enjoyed with the now-extinct bunny-eared TV antennas. Now we’re in the age of smart surveillance, thanks to the rise of the smart TV. And as with any other internet-connected device in the home, your media habits are subject to monitoring by your ISP, Uncle Sam and malicious snoops. But luckily, drawing the encryption curtains on would-be peepers isn’t too hard with the help of these top VPN picks for Amazon Fire Stick users.

As I would do for other types of devices, I recommend avoiding a free VPN for your Fire TV Stick and instead — if you’re on a disciplined budget — sticking to a tried-and-true paid VPN that offers the cheapest deals.

Two important callouts for this list: First, each of these are available as an app on current versions of the Fire Stick — just search the store for the VPN app as you would for any other streaming app, such as Showtime and Hulu. 

Second, you’ll notice all my picks are drawn from the top three performers in CNET’s directory of the best overall VPNs to use in 2022. That’s primarily due to the obstacle course CNET puts VPN services through during testing and evaluation. A key factor in securing a top spot on the list is a VPN’s platform compatibility, so it’s little surprise that my top three picks are VPN services that work on a wide range of devices and systems. 

However, when we evaluate VPNs for Fire TV Stick use, the priorities are straightforward. We’re looking for the fastest, most streaming-friendly services with strong-enough security to keep your service provider blind to your whereabouts and your ISP blind to your content choices. Here are our recommendations for the best VPN for Amazon Fire Stick users.

Editors’ note: Following the Sept. 13 sale of ExpressVPN to Kape Technologies, a company that has raised significant privacy concerns for us in the past, we’re carefully re-evaluating ExpressVPN to determine the implications that its new ownership may have on users’ privacy. We’ll update our recommendations and reviews if and when warranted.

Other VPNs available on Fire TV Stick

The three services above are my favorites, whether you’re using an Amazon Fire TV device or some other device. But note that these other services are also available as downloadable apps on the Fire TV platform:

• Hotspot Shield VPN (read CNET’s Hotspot Shield review)
• CyberGhost VPN (read CNET’s CyberGhost review)
• IPVanish VPN (read CNET’s IPVanish review) 

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