As X shuts down in Brazil, is the Apple App Store silencing removing VPNs?

Many Brazilians rushed to download the best VPN apps when X (formerly known as Twitter) announced its decision to close its offices in Brazil on Saturday, August 17, over a months-long censorship dispute. However, this seems to have been just 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 unavailable, including TechRadar's favorites NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and Surfshark, even though their store listings remain accessible.

"While that certainly suggests some kind of issue on Apple's side, it's not yet confirmed whether that's deliberate and as a 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 is so problematic. When Apple puts business interests ahead of freedom (always), entire countries get 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 on the app store level. "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 recorded a spike in Proton VPN signups of 580% above baseline since Saturday, echoing a similar spike that occurred back in April. At the time, Brazilian VPN usage soared following suggestions from Musk himself after Brazil launched an inquiry into his conduct.

It's worth noting it isn't unusual for Apple to comply with blocking orders from authorities. In the most recent of these instances, the Big Tech giant reportedly removed VPN apps in Russia from the official store.

Again, it isn't clear at the time of writing if Apple is acting upon Brazilian orders. Yet, "If these VPN blocks in Brazil are indeed deliberate, they would also have the effect of pushing users towards less reputable VPNs that remain available and can expose their personal data," said Migliano.

There are still VPN apps available for installation on the Apple App Store. These include some secure options like Windscribe, Private Internet Access (PIA), and Mullvad. You can check the full list put together by Migliano here.

Is X still available in Brazil?

Despite the social media giant's decision to halt its nationwide business operations, the team has confirmed that "the X service remains available to the people of Brazil."

This means that, whether you live in or are visiting the country right now, you should not have any issues accessing the social media app as usual.

The chance this can soon change is high, though. Brazil already imposed temporary bans on online services that didn't comply with its requests. Telegram was temporarily blocked in April last year for failing to hand over data of neo-Nazi chats.

With this in mind, I recommend getting 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 do not comply with his censorship orders. He did so in a secret order, which we share 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. The latter skill is exactly what you need to bypass government-imposed geo-restrictions.

If Brazil eventually bans X, all you need to do is connect to a VPN server located in a country with no restrictions in place. X will see your spoofed IP address and assume you're physically in the same place as the server you chose.

So far, no issues have been reported when it comes to downloading Android VPN apps from the Google Play storefront. If you're an iPhone user, however, you might need to find an alternative or some workarounds to get your chosen app.

Migliano recommends being extremely cautious when choosing an alternative service. "Do your due diligence and read reviews first, as the VPNs that remain available are a mixed bag. Some are very good, others pose a real risk to your privacy," he told me.

A temporary solution for the tech-savvy might 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 put together a dedicated guide for its users with handy tips here. Whenever possible, however, it's worth attempting to download a VPN app directly from the provider's homepage.