Discord and YouTube in Russia: zapret or a VPN?
Discord is blocked in Russia and YouTube is throttled. Many people use zapret, others a VPN. How zapret works, where it shines and where it falls short compared to a VPN.
Discord has been blocked in Russia since autumn 2024 and YouTube throttled even earlier. zapret is a hugely popular workaround — hundreds of thousands of searches like "discord zapret" every month.
What zapret is
A free open-source tool that doesn't route traffic through a server abroad. Blocking systems recognise sites by the first packets of a connection; zapret slightly alters those packets so the filter misses them while the site still understands them. Ready-made Windows builds exist for Discord and YouTube.
Pros
Free, full speed (traffic goes direct), no subscription.
Limits
- Desktop only; no phones without root, no TVs.
- Breaks when the ISP updates its filters.
- Useless for services that block Russian IPs themselves (ChatGPT etc.) — it doesn't change your IP.
- Doesn't work on whitelisted mobile networks.
- Needs admin rights; antiviruses often complain.
- Doesn't protect you on public Wi-Fi.
Which to choose
zapret is fine for Discord on a home PC. For phones, other services and zero maintenance, a VPN is simpler. Surok works on Windows, Mac, Android and in the browser, and on iPhone via the Happ app, with local sites going direct; for YouTube alone there's the Accelerator for YouTube. Try it on the download page.