VPNs provide backdoor entry for banned Chinese apps

Despite the ban on Chinese apps in India, the enthusiasts of such apps are still downloading them using Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), a trend which may defeat the government’s motive for the ban.

Even as the government banned 59 Chinese apps, including the popular TikTok and Camscanner, many people have been downloading and using them through the VPNs.

DH spoke to five different people who have downloaded the banned apps in the past five days through VPNs.

“I downloaded TikTok and Camscanner in my new phone and use them almost every other day. VPNs have always provided a big loophole,” one user told DH, requesting anonymity.

In case of TikTok, existing users are not able to login using their old credentials. However, the users are accessing the TikTok videos through VPNs and without registering on the app. TikTok India wasn’t able to provide data on downloads through VPNs, as the downloads get registered in the name of other countries.

In case of Camscanner, once downloaded through VPNs, people are able to access it without connecting to the VPN again. The company didn’t respond to the queries sent by DH till the time of filing this copy.

A VPN works by routing your device’s internet connection through your chosen VPN’s private server rather than your internet service provider (ISP), so that when your data is transmitted to the internet, it comes from the VPN, rather than your computer.

At the start of the year, before the government decided to ban the Chinese apps after skirmishes with the communist country in the border area of Ladakh, 45% of the 560 million internet users in India were also active VPN users.

“Our data shows that 45% of internet users in India are also active VPN users. Given that there are 560 million users, it translates to 252 million active VPN users. This data is from the start of the year and so does not take into account the effects of the pandemic,” VPN review service Top10VPN told DH.

Experts expect the downloads of VPNs to have grown during the pandemic.

Previously, the government had banned porn websites in India. However, porn viewing continued, using the VPNs.