Through VPN connections, Russians have been able to continue visiting websites to which the Russian authorities have tried to restrict access.
The US technology giant Apple has removed a number of VPN applications from its App Store in Russia at the request of the Russian supervisory authority Roskomnadzor, according to Russian news sites Medusa and Mediazona.
A VPN is a virtual private network that protects the privacy of its users. The Russian authorities, especially during the war of aggression against Ukraine, have restricted access to many sites on the Internet, including independent Russian news sites and Western news sites. For example, the websites of and Helsingin Sanomat are blocked in Russia.
However, through VPN connections, Russians have been able to read websites blocked by the Russian authorities. Roskomnadzor has tried to block several VPN services in Russia.
News website Mediazona says that at least four apps have been removed from Apple’s app store: Proton VPN, Red Shield VPN, NordVPN and Le VPN.
Red Shield and Le VPN have told the public about it.
The companies say that according to Apple, Roskomnadzor demanded that the applications be removed from Apple’s application store because they contained illegal content in Russia.
– This event is a significant step in Roskomnadzor’s ongoing efforts to control access to the internet and content in Russia, Le VPN writes in its release.
Red Shield advised users to change the country setting in their Apple ID in order to gain access to VPN applications.