Melvin S.

I been a Hulu subscriber for over five years and I have never had an issue with connecting to the Hulu service in the past.

But recently, I connected to Hulu and received a message which not only made no technical sense but made me angry. Perhaps some of you who use this service also received a similar message and I strongly recommend you 'go public' about it when you do so Hulu can stop jerking us around.

The message I have been receiving from Hulu tells me that unless I drop my 'anonymous' VPN connection based on my " non-US IP address", I cannot access Hulu. Their FAQ on this issue explains the use of a VPN prevents them from 'protecting' their stream content from being accessed from outside the US.

This explanation is not just laughable, it's an insult to your intelligence for the following reasons. First, I use a US based VPN service to connect to Hulu. I am a US subscriber, using a CC issued by a US bank to pay for my service. My identity and that of my VPN provider is both known to Hulu.

Second, when a subscriber establishes an account with Hulu they have to authorized their account using a CC issued by a bank who can easily provide them the 'identity' and geographic location (your cc billing address) of the account holder.

Third, Hulu issues identity and access credentials to each subscriber that must be provided every time the service is accessed. So there is no ANONYMITY in connecting for Hulu when you sign in to their services and Hulu logs in only the verified subscriber. Further, your address information provided to them by their payment processor comes to them from their billing every month.

Those three obvious facts make any representation by Hulu that using a VPN to connect to their service is 'anonymous' not only false but completely nonsensical.

What makes this message from Hulu an insult to anyone's intelligence is the real reason Hulu wants a subscriber to not use a VPN. It has nothing whatsoever to do with the connection being anonymous. Unlike Amazon Prime streaming, Hulu sells ads with their service and their ad cards and pricing is based upon their being able to 'geolocate' and identify the subscriber using the IP address.

So forgetting entirely this 'fiction' about the anonymity of the VPN being the problem, what Hulu is actually doing by refusing to allow a US subscriber to access their content violating that subscriber's privacy.

Hulu's 'VPN policy' is simply to make false and ridiculous claims about a VPN connection preventing them from limiting the streaming of content to the US by a subscriber anonymous so they can make more ad revenues.

What Hulu won't tell you they use your IP address to 'geolocate' you and then to sell you as a geographic viewer audience to an advertiser. This explains why you keep getting ads for products you aren't interested in despite your telling them the ad doesn't apply to you. If you are in some geographically defined region, then you get the ad regardless of your stated preferences.

Also using a VPN is not about being anonymous, it's about privacy and security. You sign it to Hulu, so how can they claim they don't know who you are or that you reside in the US?

If you want to watch Hulu from a public WiFi hotspot, first connecting to your VPN prevents the hotspot provider from knowing your username, password or what service or content you are connecting to. It also ensures no nerd with a laptop nearby isn't poaching your credentials and using them to use your Hulu account from their Wifi hotspot.

So in effect, Hulu's 'no VPN' policy want to force you to deny you your privacy and forde you to potentially compromise your Hulu account and share your service with anyone thru whom you make your Internet connection.

Next, there is nothing, absolutely nothing Hulu can do to prevent a non-US person from using a US-based VPN to connect to Hulu. Hulu has no legal right, and is prevented from doing so in several states, by using your IP address to "locate" you. It's called 'cyber stalking'. You provided Hulu a US billing address to use to authorize their payment by credit/. Debit card and the bank verified you as a a US based subscriber. If Hulu wants to 'protect' content from being accessed by someone outside the US, they don't have to rely on your IP address to do that.

So Hulu's stated reason to restrict streaming content to US subscribers is pure BS. Therefore Hulu's claim their VPN policy is for 'content restriction' is a good sounding reason, but not the real one. A bright 'foreign' person could highjack the wireless modem and Internet connection of a US subscriber, and then use it to connect to Hulu.