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Say I wanted to start live streaming on YouTube or Twitch, but I don't want those services to know my real IP or where I'm located. Commercial VPNs might not be a good option here since they reduce the overall stability of internet traffic, which would translate into stream dropouts (at least, in theory).

I'm exploring the following options:

  1. Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 app for desktop platforms

  2. Co-locating a streaming server in the same facility and a network a VPN provider uses (say, ProtonVPN, for instance), connecting it to a VPN of that provider and proxying the stream through it

What would be your approach to this problem?

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    How is that 1.1.1.1 thing different from a VPN? And why would you use a VPN when already proxying through your colocated "streaming server"? Why would a VPN be unstable if you're paying for it, have you tried any? I don't really understand your considerations.
    – Luc
    May 3, 2020 at 15:11
  • According to their official page it's DNS: cloudflare.com/learning/dns/what-is-1.1.1.1 ; if they implemented it in Warp to help out a VPN service that's another matter, but I don't think the target VPN IP will be that one or if at most it is, it most likely not maintain the actual connection (they will use different IPs for that service).
    – Overmind
    May 4, 2020 at 12:23
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    My intent with Cloudflare is using their Warp service. According to the landing page for 1.1.1.1, they are working on desktop apps. If I can somehow ensure that my traffic is always routed to YT or twitch via their service, in theory it should be as stable as a home connection
    – Gelec
    May 4, 2020 at 16:12
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    By adding another "hop" between you and the end service (proxies, VPNs etc.), you will incur traffic delays. What you appear to want is a way to hide and not suffer a performance hit. That's not going to be possible.
    – schroeder ♦
    May 4, 2020 at 19:57
  • I know about the performance hit, but my goal is not to not have any. My goal is to have a minimal hit
    – Gelec
    May 5, 2020 at 11:33

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Unless you want to break into a neighbor's service and mask yourself via their IP address (which is a criminal act), you need to bridge your traffic via something that changes the IP address for you by process of address translation.

That is usually attained 1) behind a home/corporate router or 2) at the expense of a free/commercial VPN. You may rent a VPS of your own too. Warp (1.1.1.1) and other options do almost the same.

The problem with VPN of any kind is that it takes a longer path to the destination. In addition, overhead of the tunneling may increase delay, jitter and drops in video streaming. You can only hope for the best.

So my suggestion is solution #1. Go to office, or use your neighbor's with their permission of course.

Update: if #1 is not an option, try renting a fast VPS or VPN service in a foreign country en route to destination sites (US in this case)

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  • Definitely won't be breaking into a neighbour's house. Renting an office is a good idea, but I'm so used to working from home I don't wanna go anywhere :) However, what if I want to take it a step further and ensure that my legal name cannot be linked to my digital persona? Renting an office might defeat the purpose of that since the office building can be subpoenaed, and they would have to disclose my legal name
    – Gelec
    May 4, 2020 at 16:13
  • @Gelec You could pay a VPN provider with cryptocoins, but that will not stop the police to force the VPN provider to reveal your source IP address. The other solution is Tor, but the overhead will be huge, probably to huge for streaming. Anyway, the best way to avoid legal trouble is to stay legal. If you are not worried about legal actions, then a VPN should be enough to protect your name and IP address (the rest is up to you).
    – A. Hersean
    Jan 25, 2022 at 9:47

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