OpenAI’s AI chatbot, ChatGPT, is by far the most popular of its kind. As a result, two predictable problems arise. Firstly, ChatGPT access is throttled by server bandwidth struggling to keep up with internet traffic, effectively “blocking” ChatGPT access. We have a different article for that. Secondly, some user queries (known as text prompts) will invariably include malicious intent. Attempts to bypass restrictions, DNS leaks, and privacy violations are as common within AI as they are across the wider internet.
As a result, some users are blocked and thereafter look for ways to be unblocked. We have another article for that. Others still look for an unblocked, unlocked, or unrestricted ChatGPT alternative to begin with – one that won’t block them at all. This article is the third kind, ChatGPT unblocked. I’ve had extensive experience with ChatGPT, so if you’re new to AI or just want to see what we think, make sure to check out my ChatGPT review, which I’ve updated for 2024.
How do I get unblocked by ChatGPT?
There are a few ways to interpret the phrase “ChatGPT unblocked”. If you’re simply having connectivity issues, read our separate article on that. If instead you’ve been blocked from using ChatGPT by OpenAI, and need to unblock ChatGPT instead of using an alternative, we have an article for that. You may be able to get unblocked by ChatGPT in any or all of the following ways:
- Sign up for a VPN service (Virtual Private Network)*. The VPN server locations will replace your own IP address, and so if you’ve been blocked by IP (very common), this can fix it.
- Access ChatGPT via the OpenAI API. Unblocked-GPT by Jacob Powaza offers an easy third-party interface for using the AI chatbot, provided you have your own API key.
- Create a new ChatGPT account. Log in with a new password, and on a new internet connection if you can – this will make it very hard for OpenAI to associate you with the other (blocked) account.
Common VPN client options include NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark. The following steps are unlikely to get ChatGPT unblocked, but can help diagnose the problem:
- Switch to a different browser (try Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge, or Tor browser)
- Access the AI chatbot on a different device.
However, if you’re happy to use an alternative without the same restrictions as OpenAI’s AI chatbot, then let’s begin.
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Unrestricted ChatGPT alternatives
Different AI chatbots will have different censorship rules and user guidelines. Understandably, the well-known options will have the tightest restrictions — investor money is invariably the reason that they became the biggest and best options in the first place. With investors to appease, these companies will want to put on a clean and respectable front.
If you do manage to find a smaller self-funded AI chatbot, there’s a high likelihood that it runs on the OpenAI API anyway. This means that it will be restricted in the same way as ChatGPT. In all fairness, developing a proprietary LLM (Large Language Model) is a very expensive process, not least because skilled AI engineers are some of the highest-paid employees on earth. In this way, you can guarantee that self-funded startups without previously rich founders are not running on proprietary technology.
DeepAI, one example of an independent chatbot running on the API of a larger company, doesn’t impose its own restrictive policies on the use of its chatbot. However, the firm “provides the API access to the GPT-3 model with a few key restrictions to ensure responsible usage:
- No harmful, illegal, or unethical use: The API should not be used to promote or generate any content that is harmful, illegal, or unethical. This includes generating misinformation, hate speech, discriminatory content, or any content that violates human rights or privacy.
- No impersonation: The AI model should not be used to impersonate another person or entity, including generating false identities or forging official documents.
- No spam or phishing: The API should not be used for any form of spamming or phishing activities.
- Complying with applicable laws and regulations: Users must ensure that their use of the API complies with all relevant laws, regulations, and policies.
ChatGPT unblocked for school – our thoughts
If your school or college doesn’t want you to use ChatGPT, you probably shouldn’t do that. You may be looking for Unblocked-GPT, a third-party interface (not controlled by OpenAI) that takes any ChatGPT API key. Of course, if your school blocks this website, usually via a firewall to protect from online attacks, you may have to resort to doing your work. There are ways around this, however we strongly advise against even trying. If you’re in doubt, we recommend checking out our detailed guide around AI and plagerism – in particular, our research into how universities detect ChatGPT. If that doesn’t put you off, nothing will.
Why have you been blocked from using ChatGPT?
ChatGPT blocks users who try to circumvent their rules. These include the ToS (Terms of Service). In conclusion, don’t do that. The other most common reason is that you’ve attempted to use their LLM (Large Language Model), known as GPT-3.5 or GPT-4, for malicious purposes. It’s great at natural language processing (NLP), and equally great at detecting suspicious intent for the same reason.
