Study Reveals Apple Secretly Removes VPN Apps from Russian App Store
The global internet censorship monitoring project GreatFire has uncovered a significant discrepancy with official reports, finding that over 20% of VPN services were blocked without any public notification. The project has called on both Apple and Russia’s Roskomnadzor to increase transparency and restore these tools to the App Store.
Key Findings from the GreatFire Study
- Major Discrepancy with Official Reports: While Roskomnadzor officially claimed that 25 VPN apps were removed from the App Store at its request, GreatFire’s research found that Apple quietly removed nearly 60 VPN apps between early July and September 18, 2024, bringing the total number of unavailable VPN apps to 98.
- Ongoing Removals Without Notification: More than 20% of tested VPN apps were blocked without any public notice, undermining transparency in the Russian App Store.
- Coordinated Removal Patterns: The removals were concentrated on specific dates, suggesting coordinated actions by Apple that may go beyond Roskomnadzor’s requests, rather than voluntary withdrawals by VPN developers.
“Apple’s secret removal of nearly 60 VPN apps from the Russian App Store is not only alarming—it’s a direct threat to digital freedom and privacy,” said Benjamin Ismail, director of the App Censorship project at GreatFire. “Unilaterally restricting access to these vital tools without transparency or due process makes Apple complicit in enforcing state censorship. We demand that Apple uphold its human rights commitments and provide a clear explanation for these actions.”
Purpose and Scope of the Study
The study aimed to verify Roskomnadzor’s claims, as reported by Russian news agency Interfax, that the regulator ordered the removal of 25 VPN apps from the App Store. It also sought to assess the scale of VPN blocking by Russian authorities, determine the number of blocked VPNs, and evaluate their unavailability in the Russian App Store.
Researchers tested over 360 VPN apps worldwide, conducting more than 63,000 individual tests across 175 App Stores.
Timeline of Removals
- Before July 2024: 32 VPN apps were already unavailable before the summer.
- Early July 2024: A wave of removals occurred from July 4 to July 7, affecting more than a dozen apps, including major services like CyberGhost VPN and ExpressVPN.
- After July 7: From July 8 to August 11, another 30 apps were removed.
Researchers believe Apple should explain its actions regarding the removal of VPN apps, especially if these actions exceeded Roskomnadzor’s official requests.
For more details, you can read the full study here.
Public Response and Open Letter
After the unexplained disappearance of several popular VPN apps from the App Store, civil society representatives called on Apple to take transparent and decisive action in response to censorship. Their open letter stated:
“The company has yet to explain why it deviated from its own standards and rules, which recognize ‘the critical importance of an open society where information flows freely,’ and clearly state that ‘our commitment to user privacy goes hand in hand with our commitment to the freedom of information and freedom of expression.’”
Thousands of websites are blocked in Russia, including for reasons of military censorship. The most popular internet platforms in Russia—such as Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube—are either inaccessible or difficult to access.
“In these circumstances, Apple’s actions only make the situation worse,” the letter’s signatories stated. The open letter was signed by about 30 Russian and international organizations, as well as individuals including journalists, lawyers, and public figures.