- New research found that Apple and Google continue to offer VPN applications without revealing their Chinese property
- At least five can have ties with a Shanghai -based firm is believed to have links with the Chinese army
- Experts discovered this threat for the first time in April 2025
At least 17 free VPN applications linked to China may still be hidden in Apple and Google application stores, and Big Tech could be obtaining profits, as new research reveals.
In April, the experts of the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) first discovered that millions Free VPN users in 20 applications may have sent their data to China without knowing it. It was reported that five of these had ties with Qihoo 360, a Shanghai -based company that is believed to have links with the Chinese army.
Now, about six weeks later, TTP researchers have discovered that most of these VPNs are still available in Apple and Google Applications stores. UU. They also said they found evidence that Apple and Google can also be benefiting from these applications.
What are the free VPN affected?
The TTP initial report found that more than 20 of the 100 free VPN available in the US Apple Application Store. Uu. They had not revealed ties with China.
According to reports, five of these applications (Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, Thunder VPN, Snap VPN and Signal Secure VPN) are linked to Qihoo 360, a company that the United States sanctions for national security reasons for their alleged links with the Chinese army in June 2020.
While the best VPN services promise to boost online privacy and work with strict non-log policies, Chinese property VPNs are subject to more strict data retention rules and can be forced to share user data with the government at request.
After another control in May, an update of the report states that, despite the fact that some of them are eliminated, “two other applications linked to Qihoo 360, Turbo VPN and VPN Proxy Master, remained available in the US Apple application store. UU., Along with 11 other Chinese property applications identified in the TTP report.”
The last are X -VPN, Ostrich VPN, VPNIFY, VPN Proxy OVPNSPider, Wortvpn – Fast VPN & Proxy, now VPN, Speedy Quark VPN, Best VPN Proxy APPVPN, Hulavpn and Pearl VPN.
New: Apple and Google’s application stores continue to offer VPN that are surreptitiously of Chinese companies, more than 6 weeks after TTP first identified them. The last findings also show that Apple and Google can benefit from these applications by obtaining a subscription income cut. pic.twitter.com/fgzvbhptowJune 12, 2025
The researchers also found that Google Play Store in the US.
The others are X-VPN, Speedy Quark VPN, VPNIFY, Ostrich VPN, VPN Proxy OVPNSPIDER, HULAVPN and VPNPROXY APPVPN.
However, not just that. During the TTP May Spot verification, the researchers noticed that some of the VPNs that appear as free in application stores offer purchases in the application at the top.
“That means that Apple and Google can benefit from these Chinese property VPNs when Americans pay subscriptions or other accessories,” says the new report.
In the Google Play store, some of the Chinese property VPNs also come with a banner that says they contain ads.
TTP said Apple, Google, Qihoo 360, and most applications listed developers did not respond to their comment application.
Techradar approached Google and Apple for a comment.
Apple told Techradar that the company has some strict guidelines for VPN application developers, which include not using or disseminating any data for any purpose for third parties. However, Apple said it does not limit the distribution of applications depending on where the supplier is based.
We are still waiting for a Google response at the time of publication.
We can confirm that VPN applications linked to China are also available in official United Kingdom Applications stores, and that is likely that other markets are also affected.
If you are looking for a reliable free VPN service, we recommend that you consult our guide dedicated here. Today’s main recommendations are private VPN and Proton VPN.
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