Now that X is closing in Brazil, will Apple’s App Store also remove VPNs?
Many Brazilians rushed to download the best VPN apps when X (formerly known as Twitter) announced on Saturday, August 17, that it would close its offices in Brazil, due to a months-long censorship dispute. However, this appears to have been only the first disruption to people’s online lives.
At the same time, some VPN providers reportedly disappeared from the local Apple App Store, preventing iPhone users from downloading the application. According to Simone Magliano, Head of Research at Top10VPN, at least 30 VPN apps are now no longer available, including TechRadar favorites NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark, although their store listings remain accessible.
“That certainly suggests there is a problem at Apple, but it’s not yet confirmed whether that’s intentional and the result of a government order,” Migliano told me.
This is why Apple’s anti-competitive app store policies that enforce a de facto monopoly on app distribution are so problematic. When Apple puts business interests above freedom (it always does), entire countries are cut off from the open internet. https://t.co/58HO3INWfoAugust 19, 2024
One of the most popular free VPN services out there, Proton VPN, acknowledged the issue a day after X’s announcement, confirming that the problem was at the app store level. “It could be a bug, or Apple implementing a secret censorship order,” the team wrote in a tweet (see above).
Despite these issues, the Swiss VPN provider confirmed to TechRadar that it had seen a 580% spike in Proton VPN signups above baseline since Saturday, echoing a similar spike seen in April. At the time, Brazilian VPN usage had surged following suggestions from Musk himself after Brazil launched an investigation into his conduct.
It’s worth noting that it’s not uncommon for Apple to comply with blocking orders from authorities. In the most recent case, the Big Tech giant reportedly removed VPN apps in Russia from its official store.
Again, it’s unclear at the time of writing whether Apple is acting on Brazilian orders. Still, “If these VPN blocks in Brazil are indeed intentional, they would also have the effect of pushing users toward less reputable VPNs that remain available and could expose their personal data,” Migliano said.
There are still VPN apps available for installation in the Apple App Store. These include a number of secure options such as Windscribe, Private Internet Access (PIA), and Mullvad. You can check out the full list compiled by Migliano here.
Is X still available in Brazil?
Despite the social media giant’s decision to cease its nationwide operations, the team has confirmed that “the X service remains available to the people of Brazil.”
This means that whether you live in the country or are visiting, you will not have any problems opening the social media app as usual.
The chances of this changing soon are high, however. Brazil has already imposed temporary bans on online services that did not comply with the requests. Telegram was temporarily blocked in April last year because it refused to hand over data from neo-Nazi chats.
With this in mind, I recommend installing a reliable VPN app as soon as possible to avoid any issues and ensure reliable access to X (and other social media platforms).
Last night, Alexandre de Moraes threatened our legal representative in Brazil with arrest if we did not comply with his censorship orders. He did this in a secret order, which we are sharing here to expose his actions. Despite our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court not being heard,… pic.twitter.com/Pm2ovyydhEAugust 17, 2024
How a VPN Can Help
A VPN, short for virtual private network, is security software that encrypts internet connections and spoofs a user’s real IP address. That last skill is exactly what you need to bypass government-imposed geo-restrictions.
If Brazil eventually bans X, all you have to do is connect to a VPN server in an unrestricted country. X will see your spoofed IP address and assume you are physically located in the same place as the server you chose.
So far, there have been no reported issues downloading Android VPN apps from the Google Play storefront. However, if you’re an iPhone user, you may need to find an alternative or some workarounds to get your chosen app.
Migliano advises being extremely careful when choosing an alternative service. “Do your due diligence and read reviews first, because the VPNs still available are a mixed bag. Some are very good, others pose a real risk to your privacy,” he told me.
A workaround for the tech-savvy user could also be to “manually set up a VPN on your iOS device using a third-party client, such as the official WireGuard app,” he added.
Proton VPN has put together a special guide for its users with useful tips here . However, whenever possible, it is worth trying to download a VPN app directly from the provider’s homepage.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational use. For example:
1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).
2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy abroad.
We do not support or tolerate the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. The consumption of paid pirate content is not endorsed or approved by Future Publishing.
