Multiple virtual private network (VPN) apps have been removed from the Google Play Store and Apple’s App Store in India, according to a TechCrunch report. These apps have been pulled in what appears to be the first crackdown against these apps, more than two years after the government issued rules that require VPN service providers to collect and store details of customers. Several VPN providers previously shut their physical servers in the country in response to the rules that were issued in April 2022, but still offer services to customers in India.
VPN Apps Withheld in India Following Removal Request
According to a document seen by TechCrunch, the Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order to Google and Apple, asking the companies to remove multiple VPN apps from the Play Store and App Store, respectively. The government’s request to Google was sent on October 29, and was recently spotted by the publication on the Lumen database.
One of the most notable VPN applications to be pulled from both app stores is the 1.1.1.1 app from Cloudflare, a US-based content delivery network service provider. Other apps that were also taken down include Touch VPN, X-VPN, Hide.me, and PrivadoVPN.
Both Google and Apple had already withheld access to these applications, at the time of publishing this story. Other VPN apps, such as Proton VPN, Express VPN, Private Internet Access, and Mullvad, remain available on both platforms.
The removal of these apps comes over two years after the government ordered VPN providers offering services in the country to collect and store details of their customers for a five-year period. In April 2022, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) said that providers would need to store names, addressees, IP addresses, and other contact details of users in India.
Two months after CERT-In issued the order, notable VPN providers such as ExpressVPN, Surfshark, NordVPN, and Private Internet Access announced that they would not comply with the rules, and subsequently shut down their physical VPN servers in India. It is worth noting that these service providers continue to offer VPN services to customers, even though they do not operate in the country.
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