The company came under fire for removing VPN apps to comply with local censorship regulations, following a major report by AppleCensorship, a third-party source that tracks the availability of App Store apps.

Apple is blocking more apps than Russia demands

• Allegedly only in the summer of 2024 Apple removed nearly 50 VPN appsbut “Roskomnadzor” declared only 25 names prohibited.
• Blocked services include ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Norton Secure, Proton and Bitdefender.
• The total number of VPN apps blocked since the start of the war now stands at 98, although another 14 apps were unavailable before the full-scale invasion.

Analysts say this “raises concerns about transparency and Apple’s role in creating conditions for censorship in the country.” By restricting VPN access, the Russian government can more effectively control the flow of information and monitor its citizens. Today, Russia is the second App Store environment with the number of restrictions, second only to China.

Benjamin Ismail, manager of the App Censorship project at GreatFire, expressed concern about the fate of the Russians, saying it was “a direct threat to digital freedom and privacy.”

By unilaterally restricting access to these important tools without transparency and due process, Apple becomes complicit in government censorship. We demand that Apple comply with its human rights obligations and provide a clear explanation of these actions,
– says Ismail.

We don’t know why but…

Apple probably removed these VPN apps to stay one step ahead, realizing that: the matter will not end with 25 programs and later Russia will name new ones.

This is a huge dilemma for the company, which has previously strongly stated its refusal to cooperate with country governments on censorship, surveillance and gaining access to the smartphones of criminals and suspects. He must choose: comply with authoritarian demands or start cutting functions, worsening user experience and, of course, reducing profits.

Today it can be argued about the latter, because the company has officially left the market of the occupying country, does not conduct financial transactions with it and therefore does not make a profit from it. Therefore, the maintenance of the App Store is actually the American brand’s own initiative and is probably aimed at a possible return to Russia after the war.

It can also be assumed that the company went to this cooperation with “Roskomnadzor” to avoid a complete blocking of its services, as was the case with others.