The Indian Ministry of Home Affairs has issued removal orders for several VPN apps from Indian app stores. Among the services affected are Cloudflare, PrivadoVPN, and Hide.me.
TechCrunch reviewed the ministry's document and tracked a disclosure from Google to Lumen, a Harvard University database that compiles government takedown requests. A developer showed the publication communication from Apple that cited a request for removal from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center. The request said the app violated Indian law.
In 2022, India enacted new laws that required VPN providers to store user information for five years. This included IP addresses, names, email addresses, verified contact numbers, and home addresses. They would also be required to provide information to the government when requested.
This prompted several VPN providers, including NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN, to shut down local servers in India. Several cybersecurity experts also called for public consultation on the new rules in an open letter to India's Computer Emergency Response Team.
In 2020, India banned 59 Chinese apps. TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat, and ES File Explorer, among others, remain banned in the country.
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