VPN Apps Vanish from Indian Stores: What's Going On?

You might have noticed some of your favorite VPN apps, like Cloudflare’s 1. 1. 1. 1, disappear from India’s app stores. This happened because the Indian government ordered their removal. The Ministry of Home Affairs issued these removal orders, affecting apps like Hide. me and PrivadoVPN too. Apple and Google complied with these orders, referencing a demand from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center.

Why the sudden change? The government introduced new rules in 2022 for VPN providers. These rules require VPNs to keep detailed records of their users, including names, addresses, IP addresses, and transaction histories, for five years. This caused a stir in the industry, with companies like NordVPN and ExpressVPN expressing concerns and even planning to withdraw their services from India. While some VPNs have stopped marketing in India, others still operate. But the question remains: how does this affect users and their online privacy?

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