Apple removes VPN apps from Chinese App Store

Apple seems to have removed all VPN software from the Chinese version of the App Store. The reason for the removal is that the applications contain content that is illegal in China; indicating that the move was taken at the request of the authorities.

ExpressVPN, a provider of VPN applications, noted that the software has been pulled from the Chinese version of the App Store. The company then conducted a small-scale investigation and noted that more VPN apps have been removed from the App Store. Users who are not registered at a Chinese address can, incidentally, continue to download the applications.

A response from Apple shows that the software has been removed from the App Store because connections via VPN are not allowed in China. And that goes against the terms developers have to agree to when offering their apps through the App Store.

At the beginning of this year, China already started hindering VPN providers. Earlier this month, the country asked internet providers to cut off customers who connect to VPN services. VPN connections allow internet users to bypass censorship in the country, something the authorities want to prevent.