- Apple reportedly removed proxy tools and VPN clients from the Russian App Store
- Streisand, V2Box, v2RayTun and Happ Proxy Utility are not available
- The deletions come days after the Telegram shutdown began.
Apple has reportedly removed several VPN clients from its Russian App Store, marking another escalation in the country’s efforts to control Internet access.
According to reports from Russian tech outlet Kod Durova, the removals include VPN and proxy service apps Streisand, V2Box, v2RayTun, and Happ Proxy Utility.
Data from AppleCensorship, a platform that tracks App Store availability globally, confirms that these apps have been delisted in both Russia and China.
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Unlike conventional services like NordVPN or Surfshark, these apps allow users to connect to their own private servers or manual proxy settings.
The move follows a growing crackdown on VPNs in the country and coincides with the blocking of Telegram, which continues.
Target custom proxies
This is not the first time that Apple has removed VPN services from its Russian App Store.
In 2024 alone, the tech giant delisted at least 60 VPN apps, affecting several well-known providers, including NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Proton VPN.
These censorship efforts increased significantly following the introduction of a 2024 law that criminalizes the dissemination of information on how to circumvent Internet restrictions.
The developer behind v2RayTun, one of the apps affected by this latest round of removals, shared a screenshot of an email received from Apple on Telegram.
While these apps are no longer available for download from the Russian App Store, users who have already installed the tools will be able to continue using them as usual.
However, because they are delisted, these apps will no longer receive crucial software updates, including security patches, bug fixes, and new features through the App Store.
When asked about WhatsApp and Threads being removed from China’s App Store in 2024, the company told The Guardian that it was “obliged to follow the laws of the country where we operate, even when we disagree.”
TechRadar has reached out to Apple and the affected developers for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
Kod Durova, however, reports that the same apps are still available to download through Google Play for Android users in the country.
The Telegram connection
The news of these App Store removals comes at a time when access to a reliable VPN has never been more important in Russia.
For the past two weeks, residents have faced serious connectivity issues with Telegram, the country’s most popular messaging app.
Just days before these outages began, government official Andrey Svintsov claimed that Roskomnadzor had developed the technical capability to selectively restrict VPN traffic, warning that circumvention tools would not help users bypass Telegram blocking.
Speaking to TechRadar, Amnezia VPN founder Mazay Banzaev confirmed that while Russia’s main blocking mechanisms have not fundamentally changed, they have become more precise and efficient.
“Improved detection of VPN traffic, hosting infrastructure and related services now has a direct impact on the availability of Telegram,” Banzaev explained, although he confirmed that Amnezia Free and Premium can still bypass Telegram restrictions.
However, it is clear that the country’s strategy for blocking websites is changing.
“Previously, censors focused on identifying weak points: specific servers, proxies or CDNs. Now, blocking is applied more broadly and aggressively, with less concern about collateral damage or unwanted outages,” Banzaev told TechRadar.
This latest wave of App Store removals signals a new phase in Russian Internet censorship. By moving from major ready-made VPN providers to tools that allow tech-savvy users to run custom proxy configurations, Roskomnadzor is systematically closing the remaining loopholes.
At this rate, iPhone users in Russia could soon be left with very few options for accessing the free web.
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