Looking to navigate the Middle East’s internet restrictions? This VPN is what you need

Middle East night lights from space
(Image credit: Constantine Johnny/via Getty Images)

From Turkey and Syria to Jordan and Qatar, at least seven countries in the Middle East have imposed internet restrictions in 2025. These have disrupted how both citizens and tourists alike access content online.

Internet blocks may be temporary, like in Turkey when authorities restricted access to major social media platforms for 42 hours back in March. But restrictions can also last months or even years. In August, for example, Qatar blocked access to the popular online game, Roblox, due to child safety concerns and it's been years since people in the UAE have been able to use VoIP features on WhatsApp freely.

Of course, the reasons behind these blocks all differ but they produce a similar outcome – a surge in VPN use. Among the most popular is Proton VPN. The Swiss-based provider is built with advanced anti-censorship features that promise to bypass even the most advanced web blocking.

How good is Proton VPN Black Friday deal?

Proton VPN: 3.59) just $2.49a month
Black Friday Deal

Proton VPN: (was $3.59) just $2.49 a month
Proton VPN offers Swiss-grade privacy reassurances, a bunch of top-notch security and censorship-unblocking features, high speeds, and servers all across the globe. Now at 75% off, you can get:

<p><strong>✅Servers in 127 countries<br /><strong>✅Swiss-grade privacy reassurances <br /><strong>✅Advanced security and unblocking features

Proton is a guarantee when it comes to privacy. Its VPN has a strict no-log policy that's been repeatedly audited, open-source applications across all major platforms, and advanced features like Forward Secrecy, which generates a new encryption key for each session. That's super important in countries where surveillance, as well as censorship, may be higher than you're used to at home.

Proton doubled down in its fight against censorship even further last year by bringing its Stealth protocol to Windows and adding even more servers in volatile areas. The team also released a discreet icon feature to disguise the Proton VPN's app as another application. The firm is currently working on expanding these capabilities even further to stay on top of ever-evolving internet blocks.

Subscribing to a premium Proton VPN plan also means getting access to a global server network across 127 countries, brilliant streaming unblocking, and an allowance of 10 simultaneous connections. All of this while saving up to 75% from its normal pricing.


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Chiara Castro
News Editor (Tech Software)

Chiara is a multimedia journalist committed to covering stories to help promote the rights and denounce the abuses of the digital side of life – wherever cybersecurity, markets, and politics tangle up. She believes an open, uncensored, and private internet is a basic human need and wants to use her knowledge of VPNs to help readers take back control. She writes news, interviews, and analysis on data privacy, online censorship, digital rights, tech policies, and security software, with a special focus on VPNs, for TechRadar and TechRadar Pro. Got a story, tip-off, or something tech-interesting to say? Reach out to chiara.castro@futurenet.com

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