Apple is reportedly working with Russia to quietly remove VPN apps from the App Store

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Since Russia’s large-scale attack on Ukraine, Apple has significantly reduced its operations in the country. It has since suspended sales of all products and restricted some services such as Apple Pay. Despite this, Apple still operates a full-fledged app store in Russia. However, it is currently facing worthy criticism for complying with Russian government demands to remove VPN apps to comply with local censorship regulations.

A new report published by GreatFire, using data from AppleCensorship, a platform that monitors the availability of apps in the Apple App Store, shows that Apple removed nearly 60 VPN apps in the summer of 2024, bringing the total to 98 since the war began. These include those with legitimate secure data practices, such as ExpressVPN and NordVPN, as well as offerings from Norton Secure, Proton, and Bitdefender.

The number far exceeds the 25 VPN apps that Russia’s communications regulator Roskomnadzor has deemed banned, raising concerns about Apple’s transparency and its role in enabling censorship in the country.

“Apple’s silent removal of nearly 60 VPN apps from the Russian App Store is not only disturbing — it is a direct threat to digital freedom and privacy,” said Benjamin Ismail, director of the app censorship project at GreatFire.

“By unilaterally restricting access to these essential tools without transparency and due process, Apple is helping to enable government censorship. We demand that Apple uphold its commitment to human rights and provide a clear explanation for these actions.”

Apple likely removed these VPN apps to comply with Russia’s strict internet regulations, which require tech companies to cooperate with government censorship efforts. By restricting access to VPNs, the Russian government can more effectively control the flow of information and monitor its citizens.

Apple once again faces a familiar dilemma: comply with authoritarian demands or start limiting features, reducing the user experience and, of course, limiting profits. I’m not entirely sure how big the Russian market is for Apple right now, but it still offers plenty of services in the country, including Apple Music, Apple TV+, Apple Podcasts, Apple Fitness+, Apple Books, Shazam, iTunes, and Apple One subscriptions. Failure to comply may result in penalties or even suspension of services.

In the coming weeks, I will be traveling to Kiev, Ukraine to attend the Objective-See Objective Apple We 2.0 security event hosted by our friends at MacPaw. I’m excited to report back from the ground 9 to 5Mac. Stay up to date!

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