Scramble to download VPN apps as they vanished from Apple’s China App Store

As VPN apps started to disappear from China’s iOS App Store over the weekend, users in the country were frantically downloading as many as they could.

On Saturday, Apple pulled the rug out from under Chinese iPhone users’ feet, by taking down VPN apps from the App Store.

VPN apps allow people to access websites that China blocks at an ISP level. This includes popular sites such as Facebook, Instagram, and all of Google’s services including Gmail and search.

The move means China was successful in pressuring Apple to comply with its growing stranglehold on data freedom in the country, and comes amid a broader ongoing crackdown on social media users. Read more…

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