Cloudflare’s VPN app among half-dozen pulled from Indian app stores

India pulls VPN apps including Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1 due to 2022 regulations.

: India has removed over half-a-dozen VPN apps, including Cloudflare's 1.1.1.1, from app stores following a government order. The Ministry of Home Affairs cited violations of Indian law, leading to these apps' removal as per the 2022 regulatory framework. This framework requires VPN providers to retain user data for five years, resulting in major players expressing concerns. Brands like NordVPN and ExpressVPN plan to withdraw their servers from India.

India recently intervened to remove more than half-a-dozen VPN apps from its Apple App Store and Google Play Store, including Cloudflare's popular 1.1.1.1. According to a document viewed by TechCrunch and information from Google to Lumen, this action was initiated by the Indian Ministry of Home Affairs.

Among the affected apps are Hide.me and PrivadoVPN, with Apple citing demands from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center for the removal. The government body, operating under the Ministry of Home Affairs, determined these apps were in violation of Indian laws.

This marks the first prominent execution of India's 2022 VPN regulatory framework, which requires VPN providers to store customer data for five years. Major industry players like NordVPN, ExpressVPN, and SurfShark have expressed concerns and some have stopped marketing their apps or considered withdrawing server infrastructure in India.