Terms & Legal
Plain-English rules, legality by country, and takedown contact.
This page is maintained by Lord Owl Ltd, the operator of OwlGate. It explains the terms you agree to when you use the service, why availability and legality differ from place to place, and how rights holders can contact us. It is information, not legal advice — if you need certainty about your own situation, speak to a qualified lawyer in your country.
Terms of use
By using OwlGate apps, configuration files or this website you agree to use the service lawfully in the place you are connecting from and the place you are connecting to. Specifically, you agree not to use OwlGate to:
- break the law where you are, or where the tree house you connect through is located;
- infringe copyright, distribute pirated media, or bypass content protection;
- attack, scan, spam or overload other networks;
- share, resell or automate accounts beyond the device limits of your plan;
- hide activity involving children, terrorism, fraud, or other serious crime.
We may suspend an account that breaks these rules. Our paid plans carry a 30-day money-back guarantee; refunds outside that window are at our discretion. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.
Not legal everywhere — what that actually means
People often read “VPN” as a single legal thing. It isn’t. Three separate questions decide whether what you are doing is fine, and they can each have a different answer.
Is the VPN itself legal?
In the UK, EU, US, Canada, Australia and most of the world, yes — encryption and private networking are ordinary tools. A small number of countries licence VPN providers, restrict them to registered businesses, or ban unapproved ones. Rules there change quickly, so check locally before you travel.
Is the content licensed where you are?
Broadcasters buy rights country by country. A show that is free in Britain may be unlicensed in Spain and licensed to a rival platform in Germany. When a service isn't licensed in your country, it is normally blocked rather than illegal to you personally — but their terms of service may still forbid access.
Does the service's contract allow it?
Most streaming platforms' terms restrict access to the country you subscribed in. Breaching those terms is a contract matter — the usual consequence is that the service blocks or closes the account, not a criminal one.
This is why our Free TV & Flicks directory shows a licence badge and a plain-English note under every listing, and can hide services that are not licensed in your detected country. Those notes describe where a service is officially licensed — they are not a ruling on your personal circumstances.
The short version
A VPN changes the route your traffic takes. It does not change what is legal for you to do. Anything you may not lawfully watch, download or share without OwlGate, you may not lawfully do with it.
What OwlGate does and does not do
OwlGate provides encrypted network transit. We do not host, store, cache, index, transcode or rebroadcast any third-party video, audio or other media. Our streaming directory is a set of links and editorial notes pointing at official, publicly available services, comparable to a bookmark list.
Because we keep no logs of traffic contents or browsing history, we generally cannot identify which user accessed a particular site. We do respond to valid legal process from UK authorities with whatever limited account data we hold — see Security & Privacy for exactly what that is.
DMCA & takedown notices
If you own rights in material you believe is linked from OwlGate, send us a notice and we will review it. Valid notices are actioned — the listing is taken down from our directory — and we acknowledge every notice within two business days. Deliberately false notices can carry liability, so please only file one for material you control.
- 1
Identify the exact work you own or represent.
- 2
Give the exact OwlGate URL where the material appears.
- 3
Include the two statutory statements and your signature.
- 4
Send it — we acknowledge within 2 business days.
Counter-notice: if your listing was removed and you believe that was a mistake, reply to our acknowledgement email with your reasoning and contact details. We reinstate listings where the claim is withdrawn or clearly wrong. Broken or unavailable links are not a legal matter — use the report button on the listing instead.
Frequently asked legal questions
Is using OwlGate legal?
In the UK and most of Europe, North America and Oceania, using a VPN is entirely legal. A handful of countries restrict, licence or ban VPN use outright. Using a VPN never makes an otherwise illegal act legal.
Is it legal to watch UK TV abroad with a VPN?
That depends on the broadcaster's terms and your local law, not on us. Many services licence content country by country and their terms restrict access from outside that country. Check your subscription terms before you travel.
Do you host or stream any content?
No. OwlGate is a network service. Our streaming directory only links to official, publicly available services. We do not host, cache, index or transcode any video.
How do I report an infringing or broken listing?
Use the report button on the listing itself for broken or unavailable entries, or send a formal notice using the takedown form on this page for copyright claims.
Lord Owl Ltd, registered in England & Wales. Last reviewed 2026. Questions that are not legal notices belong on the support page.