Dozens Of Apps Pulled From App Stores - List

More than half-a-dozen VPN apps, including popular services like Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1, have been removed from India's Apple App Store and Google Play Store following government intervention, reported TechCrunch.

VPN Apps: Government Orders the Removal

The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs issued orders citing violations of Indian law for these VPN networks. Apps like Hide.me, PrivadoVPN, and others were removed from play store and app store after a demand from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center. The laws, which entered into force in mid-2022, apply to virtual private server providers, while cloud services and VPNs are exempt.  

During implementation, IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekar indicated that providers who refused to comply with the new guidelines will be forced to abandon the market.
Following the removal of these VPN apps, this is the first major enforcement of India’s 2022 VPN rules. It is asked that VPN providers must store customer data (names, addresses, IP addresses, and transactions) for five years.

VPN Apps: Industry Pushback

VPN services like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, SurfShark, and ProtonVPN opposed the rules. After notification citing alleged breaching laws from the Indian government, these services stopped marketing in India and some announced the withdrawal of server infrastructure from India. They continue to offer services to Indian users but have withdrawn server infrastructure from the country.

VPN Apps: Stakeholders' Response

Apple, Google, Cloudflare, and the Ministry of Home Affairs have not commented on the issue.
This marks a significant step in regulating VPN usage in India, raising concerns about privacy and and operational challenges for global VPN providers.