Why can't Freedome VPN be downloaded to MAC ?

Funky
Funky Posts: 7 Observer
in Privacy VPN

I can watch some TV apps with Freedome VPN but not with F-Secure VPN. So service is made worse.

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Answers

  • JOnes
    JOnes Posts: 1,239 Forum Guru

    "When F-Secure Freedome was replaced by the newer F-Secure VPN (part of Total), the VPN infrastructure and policies changed quite a bit. Freedome used servers and routing setups that were sometimes more tolerant toward streaming apps (and some regions were harder for platforms to detect). The newer VPN uses a stricter network architecture that prioritizes security and privacy over content unblocking, so:

    • Many TV and streaming services (like Yle Areena, Ruutu, Netflix, BBC iPlayer, etc.) now recognize and block the new VPN servers.
    • The “virtual location” list is shorter — and even those locations are often shared with a large pool of users, making them easy to detect.
    • Freedome had some servers optimized for streaming; the new VPN doesn’t.

    So, — the change did make streaming worse in that sense.

    If you still want to watch region-locked TV content while keeping security, here are a few practical options:

    1. Use F-Secure VPN only for sensitive work tasks (e.g. on VPN-required Wi-Fi or when connecting to ERP/VPN).
    2. Temporarily disable it when you’re streaming TV apps that don’t work with it.
    3. If you need a streaming-friendly VPN, use a separate VPN (like ExpressVPN or NordVPN) specifically for that purpose — they maintain unblocking servers.
    4. Try "app exclusion rule" in order to bypass VPN when streaming certain services..
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  • Funky
    Funky Posts: 7 Observer

    Thanks for the comment but F-Secure really should make this better. On GoogleTV and Android I can watch a certain European Sport app with Freedome but with F-Secure VPN it doesnt work. To subscribe to another VPN would be nonsense. The I could quit F-Secure completely. I dont think that's what they want.

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  • Funky
    Funky Posts: 7 Observer

    For all other Streaming services I use StreamLocator.

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  • JOnes
    JOnes Posts: 1,239 Forum Guru

    Well,To encourage F-Secure to stream better with VPN, I would recommend contacting support directly and providing a list of services that should work with VPN.

    https://www.f-secure.com/gb-en/support

    Or adding a feature to Feature Request:

    https://community.f-secure.com/en/categories/Idea_Exchange

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  • Ukko
    Ukko Posts: 3,965 Superuser

    Hello,

    While the whole discussion is probably correct and valid, but as I remember (or as I would have felt), the new VPN design was specifically designed to improve streaming capabilities and other related features (like speed or whatever). All of the changes were expected to be tested mostly and practically exclusively against such scenarios; to allow better experience with streaming services, online TVs and so stuff.

    So, I think most of the troubles are just based on 'better' counteractions from services rather than lack of improvements or tweaks by VPN providers.

    Moreover, when a "service" (streaming, TV) claims or outright states that using a VPN for its services is "illegal" (or something like "prohibited"), companies like F-Secure are likely to avoid any questionable steps to bypass it. And fixing the situation indirectly is probably more difficult or costly.

    Also, F-Secure (or rather the data centers and VPN spots it uses) makes no secret of the fact that the IP addresses (and so things) used are operated and used for these types of services. The same was true of the Freedome design, by the way. So, for some, it's probably easier to identify the use of a VPN (from the perspective of someone wanting to limit access to their services); if this is done manually or something gets into the automatically used lists then.

    // based on your feature request, Funky, is sounds as all 'good' experience is on the Google TV with installed Freedome VPN app? Did you try to change/use different protocols on your Mac (Changing the VPN protocol used), just in case? Is there point to use another VPN spot or it should be the 'one' only (by the way, I think reconnection to the same 'location' may give another physical spot per try; so which could be more 'friendly' for the app with troubles)?

    Thanks!

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