Google Play Store, Apple's App Store Remove Multiple VPN Applications in India: Report

Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 VPN app is no longer available to download via the Play Store or App Store in India.

Written by David Delima | Updated: 6 January 2025 12:47 IST

Google Play Store, Apple's App Store Remove Multiple VPN Applications in India: Report

Photo Credit: Pexels/ Kevin Paster

Popular VPN apps like ExpressVPN and Private Internet Access continue to remain accessible

Highlights

More than six VPN applications have been withheld in India
The government reportedly asked Google, Apple to pull some VPN apps
These apps are no longer available in India via the Play Store, App Store

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.

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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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Further reading: VPN Apps, VPN, VPN Block, Google Play Store, App Store

David Delima

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As a writer on technology with Gadgets 360, David Delima is interested in open-source technology, cybersecurity, consumer privacy, and loves to read and write about how the Internet works. David can be contacted via email at DavidD@ndtv.com, on Twitter at @DxDavey, and Mastodon at mstdn.social/@delima. More