Apple keeps killing VPN apps upon Russia's orders – Amnezia VPN is the last victim

The best VPN apps continue to disappear from the Apple App Store in Russia upon government request.

Earlier today, October 31, 2024, it was the time for Amenzia VPN, a popular free VPN service developed by Russian digital rights advocacy group Roskomsvoboda.

The provider shared the bad news on its Telegram channel in the early hours of the day. The team also confirmed to TechRadar that tests conducted by the AppleCensorship project could show how the app became unavailable only four hours – or even less than that – after developers received notifications from Apple about the Russian censor body's order (see the image below).

"This is another confirmation of how lightning-fast Apple is in fulfilling censors' demands," an Amnezia VPN spokesperson told me. "For companies whose apps are removed, there is no time or opportunity to challenge the requests of the Russian authorities."

The Big Tech giant has already removed over 60 VPN apps since July this year. A total of almost 100 services are currently unavailable for download in the official App Store in Russia.

As mentioned earlier, experts at Roskomsvoboda developed Amnezia VPN precisely to give people living under strict internet censorship a means to access the open web. The team claims, in fact, that Amenzia VPN is one of the most stable and effective VPNs working in Russia, Iran, and other countries where VPN protocols are monitored and blocked by authorities.

In September 2024, a large coalition of human rights organizations, media, and VPN providers wrote an open letter calling Apple to "immediately restore" VPN apps to its Russian App Store. According to experts, that letter remains unanswered.

"Apple continues to ignore civil society’s demands to do the right thing and uphold human rights in Russia by reinstating VPNs they have blocked at the request of Roskomnadzor, the country’s censorship agency," said Anastasiya Zhyrmont, Eastern Europe & Central Asia Policy Manager at Access Now, while describing the removal of Amenzia VPN "a huge blow to fundamental freedoms."

How to download a Russia VPN

Whether you live in Russia or are visiting anytime soon, you certainly need a VPN to keep accessing the open web. Both Freedom House and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) classify Russia as one of the worst countries for internet freedom due to its high levels of online censorship.

A VPN, short for virtual private network, spoofs your real IP address location to help you bypass geo-restrictions on online content while encrypting all your internet connections to boost your privacy when browsing.

If you're struggling to download a Russia VPN app, below are some quick tips Zhyrmont from Access Now shared with us:

• Download as many VPN apps still available as possible. This will allow you to hop from one to another in case some services will stop working. I suggest looking at our free VPN guide to get the most secure services out there without paying for them all.
• Download independent media apps with embedded circumvention technologies. While many websites for independent publications are restricted in Russia, newsrooms developed censorship-resistant applications so that readers can access their content without the need to download a VPN. The Meduza app is one worth checking out.
• Try to switch your Apple ID from ru-zone. Doing this may be a bit challenging, though, especially if you have active subscriptions on the Apple App Store.

All in all, experts feel that Apple should be a vendor to avoid in the first place for people in Russia who want to keep enjoying their digital freedoms.

Commenting on this point, Stanislav Shakirov, CTO at Roskomsvoboda told me: "[Apple] is the only one helping Russian censors. If this policy is not changed, over time Apple's equipment will be useless for access to the free Internet from Russia as there will be nothing left in the Russian AppStore that has not been blocked by authorities."