Cloudflare’s VPN App, Hide.me, PrivadoVPN, and Several Others Removed from Indian App Stores

• Tens of VPN apps were expelled from app stores in India due to the country's stringent 2022 VPN regulatory framework.
• Among these are the 1.1.1.1 app, Hide.me, and PrivadoVPN, which are no longer available via the Apple App Store and Google Play Store.
• Many industry leaders have already removed their physical server infrastructure from India to avoid compliance.

More than half a dozen VPN applications have been removed from India's Apple App Store and Google Play Store following intervention by the Indian government, including Cloudflare's widely popular 1.1.1.1 app, Hide.me, and PrivadoVPN.

According to communication provided by Apple to one developer, the removal stems from a “demand” issued by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, an entity of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which stated that the developer's content violated Indian law. 

This development was confirmed through a document reviewed by TechCrunch and a disclosure made by Google to the Lumen database at Harvard University, which tracks global government takedown requests.

This marks a significant application of India's stringent 2022 VPN regulatory framework. The rules mandate that VPN providers and cloud service operators maintain detailed records of their users' information—spanning names, physical addresses, IP addresses, and transaction history—for at least five years. 

Industry leaders such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, SurfShark, Ivacy VPN, and ProtonVPN have publicly raised serious concerns about the new laws, with many opting to remove their physical server infrastructure from India to avoid compliance. 

While they continue offering services to Indian users, most have stopped actively marketing their products within the region.

This government's enforcement action highlights ongoing tensions between maintaining user privacy and complying with regulatory demands in a growing digital economy. VPNs are widely used to secure private internet browsing and bypass geo-restricted content, and India's action sets a precedent that could influence regulatory approaches in other regions.

Many users worry about reduced access to tools designed specifically to protect their digital presence, while businesses providing these services must decide between compliance with local regulations and preserving global privacy standards. 

Cloudflare’s 1.1.1.1 is praised for its focus on speed, privacy, and enhanced encryption and has become a widely trusted tool for users globally. Similarly, Hide.me has marketed itself as a zero-log VPN service offering advanced encryption and bypassing censorship to promote open internet access, the same as PrivadoVPN.

Neither the Ministry, Apple, Google, or Cloudflare has commented on the matter.