Offshore hosting is simply a hosting solution that is done outside of your own country. Any hosting service will be considered “offshore” for you if it is done outside of your country. VPS simply means that you are setting up a virtual private server, which is a powerful, customizable, and relatively secure way to run a hosting solution.
There are a number of different motivations that someone might have for running offshore hosting. However, let’s take a look at the five most important reasons that you might use an offshore VPS solution.
For Cheaper or Different Payment Structures
Not everything about offshore hosting is shady! Sometimes you can get a great deal by going with a hosting company that is based out of a different country. At the least, being ready to explore your options can help you find a better price.
Additionally, if you are trying to use a cryptocurrency payment structure for a variety of reasons, an offshore hosting service like PRV.to might be the best and cheapest place to do this. PRV.to offers a professional VPS hosting service in addition to the provision of a Bitcoin payment option.
However, you have to be careful with this because certain sites claim to be offshore VPS solutions that will take cryptocurrency but are not legit. Do your research first, compare some hosting companies, and stick with trusted brands on this one. There are definitely ways to pay crypto for a website, but that doesn’t mean that everyone offering to take your crypto is going to give you a website.
To Avoid Legal Concerns
This one is tricky. On the one hand, by locating a website outside of the country you live in, you might get around certain kinds of laws. Some of these might be somewhat legitimate. For example, some Asian countries don’t allow gambling. Running an online casino and basing your hosting service in some of these countries would be super illegal.
However, if you run the online casino from servers that are in a different country where gambling is legal, you might be okay. VPS gives you great anonymity by masking your location and assuming the location of the servers. This is why it is very important to pick a hosting provider with numerous data center locations. Fortunately, PRV.to offers numerous data center locations around the world. Moreover, you can also access your cPanel from a Tor network.
Additional Privacy and Anonymity
If you’re trying to create an anonymous website, offshore solutions may be one of the best ways to do this. There are many different ways that websites can be traced back to you as the owner, so you’ll need a structured solution to prevent being traced. You’ll need to mask your IP address by using a VPN, you’ll need an anonymous email account, and you’ll probably need some cryptocurrency in order to pay for the site without your payment information being traceable.
Offshore VPS solutions often allow you to use cryptocurrency and may require far less personal data to set up the site. Because the businesses might be subject to less regulation, they may not ask customers who pay their monthly fees. Keep in mind that they will have whatever information you have to put into the system. If an offshore VPS solution talks a lot about your privacy but then collects a bunch of personal data, it may not be a real thing.
For anyone trying to maintain a high level of privacy and anonymity, an offshore solution can make a lot of sense.
Freedom Of Publishing and Content
For people that are publishing controversial content of any kind, offshore VPS solutions might put some of that content outside the jurisdiction of certain locations. If you live in a country with many restrictions on the press and content, locating your website in a different place can get around those concerns.
But just like the legal example, there is still the possibility that laws are in place that targets people that try to use offshore solutions to shelter content.
Taxes
Running a website offshore can have some ramifications in the taxes that you get involved with. When you are trying to establish a legal business presence in a different country for tax purposes or even to establish a personal presence in a different country for tax purposes, running an offshore VPS solution can make a lot of sense.
