Can you bypass local Facebook newsfeed restrictions with a VPN?

Canada has implemented a law that compels tech giants like Facebook to pay news organizations when sending free traffic their way. This law aims to support struggling news organizations, but the company responded by blocking news links for Canadian users instead. The question is: can you bypass local Facebook newsfeed restrictions with a VPN?

A VPN lets you obtain an IP from countries where Facebook doesn’t impose such limitations. You can access content as if you’re in a different region. However, there are caveats—Facebook may cache your location server-side, which can override VPN masking. What’s more, location resets may not be immediate or reliable.

In this article, we explore the limitations of a VPN when trying to circumvent Facebook’s newsfeed restrictions. We’ll also offer a possible workaround and see whether free VPNs are worth using before addressing some FAQs.

How a VPN can help bypass Facebook newsfeed restrictions

Theoretically, a VPN should help you get around regional Facebook newsfeed limitations like those in Canada by changing your IP address. Once you connect to a VPN server in a different country (say, the US), you can browse Facebook as if you were physically located there.

In practice, we’ve seen conflicting reports of this working, possibly due to Facebook caching your location server-side. Some US users have reported getting “stuck” with Canadian newsfeed limitations after traveling to Canada for a few days. That said, the issue seemed to resolve itself after about six weeks in multiple cases.

Based on this information, here is one possible workaround to bypass local Facebook newsfeed restrictions with a VPN:

1. Sign up for a reliable VPN that can unblock Facebook (we recommend NordVPN).
2. Install the VPN on your devices. It’s important to do this on all the devices you want to browse Facebook on so the service doesn’t reset your location later.
3. Follow this link. Click your Facebook account and scroll down, then press Select devices to log out. Make sure to log out of all your devices.
4. Clear your browser cache and cookies.
5. Mobile only: Clear the Facebook app’s data and cache from your phone’s settings. Then, turn off the location data and reinstall the app.
6. Launch the VPN and connect to a server in a region with unrestricted Facebook (such as the United States).
7. Log back into your Facebook account.

Now, it’s just a case of using the VPN until the system eventually switches over. Some users on Reddit mentioned the switch happening instantly, but your mileage may vary.

Can free VPNs bypass local Facebook newsfeed restrictions?

Using a free VPN to bypass local Facebook newsfeed restrictions is unlikely to work consistently. Many free VPNs lack the resources to provide fresh new IPs for their users, making them easier to flag due to misuse.

Moreover, free VPNs are not the best at handling your personal information, with many providers selling your browsing data to ad networks for a profit. Facebook already does that, so it’s no use making things worse.

Even if privacy isn’t your priority, the risk of data leaks is real. Some free VPNs have had serious breaches in recent years, exposing user passwords and payment data. A paid VPN with a free trial offers better reliability, stronger security, and no data leaks.

Why Facebook limits newsfeeds in some regions

Facebook restricts newsfeeds in response to regulations like Canada’s Online News Act (Bill C-18). The law forces tech giants to pay news publishers fairly for having their content shared on the platform. This applies to platforms with over C$1bn yearly global revenue and 20 million monthly active Canadian users. Google and Facebook, basically.

Facebook must either negotiate deals with individual news outlets or join a larger agreement to share the funds based on each outlet’s size. Or, it could maintain its current approach, which is to restrict users in Canada from posting links to news sites.

In 2021, Australia passed similar legislation called the News Media Bargaining Code. Much like Bill C-18, the NMBC forces Facebook and Google to broker content publishing deals with news outlets. Initially, Facebook blocked news sites in Australia until the law was amended, introducing mediation and arbitration processes to resolve disputes over compensation.

Other countries are enacting similar laws, such as the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act (JCPA) in the US and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer Act (DMCCA) in the UK. How (or if) this will affect user newsfeeds has yet to be determined.

Bypassing Facebook newsfeed restrictions FAQs