According to anti-censorship watchdog GreatFire, Apple’s actions align disturbingly well with the Kremlin’s ongoing crackdown on digital privacy tools, which has already seen a ban on privacy-related extensions for the open-source Firefox browser.
Mozilla, to its credit, defied the ban and reinstated the extensions, but Apple had no such qualms.
Between early July and September 18, Apple quietly removed at least 60 VPNs from its Russian App Store. This brings the total number of unavailable VPNs in Russia to 98, though it’s unclear whether these removals affect the iOS or macOS app stores.
Benjamin Ismail, director of the App Censorship Project at GreatFire, didn’t mince words: “Apple’s silent removal of close to 60 VPN apps from the Russia App Store is not just alarming – it’s a direct threat to digital freedom and privacy. Apple is complicit in enabling government censorship by unilaterally restricting access to these essential tools without transparency or due process.”
Digital rights advocacy group Fight for the Future director Evan Greer said: “The fact that nearly 100 VPN apps are now unavailable in Russia’s App Store highlights a disturbing trend of corporate complicity in state-sponsored censorship. VPNs are lifelines for journalists, activists, and everyday citizens striving to access information and communicate securely. Apple’s actions undermine the privacy and security of millions and set a dangerous precedent for how tech companies may collaborate with authoritarian regimes.”
The Kremlin’s disdain for privacy software has only intensified since its illegal invasion of Ukraine. In March, a new law made it an offence to advertise VPN software in Russia.
The government is desperate to prevent its citizens from accessing alternative perspectives on the war in Ukraine, which are available on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter/X – all of which are inaccessible in Russia without a VPN.
Adding to the irony, the Kremlin has banned its employees from owning iPhones. Over the past few years, Apple has been fined tens of millions of dollars for its anticompetitive behaviour in Russia.