Why has Apple pulled VPNs from the Chinese App Store? Because defying new law could risk ban on all its apps, says expert
How far should Apple go to stay on China’s good side? The country is its biggest market, and company may fear a ban on all VPN downloads from app store or a block on the whole store, which would have a far bigger impact on its business

China’s restrictive internet policies are known for blocking web users who want to reach Google, Facebook or other banned apps. But now some of those policies are affecting Apple, one of the few remaining US tech giants with a presence in the country – and the issue is raising questions about Apple’s moral standing around the world.
Apple recently began pulling apps from its Chinese App Store that may conflict with a new Chinese law aimed at shoring up the country’s online censorship regime.
The removed apps were all providers of virtual private networks, or VPNs – tools that allow users to get around China’s “Great Firewall” by making it look like they are surfing the web from some other country. (VPNs have also seen growing interest from US users who are cautious about their privacy.)
“Our preliminary research indicates that all major VPN apps for iOS have been removed,” ExpressVPN, a provider based in the British Virgin Islands, said in a blog post.
Apple pulls major VPN from China App Store
Only the Chinese App Store has been affected by the change, meaning that Chinese iOS users can still download a VPN app if they use someone else’s VPN to try to get to any of Apple’s non-China App Stores. And Chinese iOS users can still communicate with iOS users outside China through the use of iMessage, Apple’s proprietary messaging app, although research suggests iMessage is dwarfed in China by WeChat, a competing app that’s grown popular due to its availability on the Android operating system.