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, due to a months-long censorship dispute. However, this appears to have been just the first disruption to people’s online lives.
At the same time, some VPN providers have disappeared from Apple’s App Store, preventing iPhone users from downloading the app. According to Simone Magliano, research director at Top10VPN, at least 30 VPN apps are no longer available, including TechRadar favourites NordVPN, ExpressVPN and Surfshark, although their listings in the store remain available.
“While that certainly suggests some sort of problem on Apple's part, it's not yet confirmed whether it's deliberate and the result of a government order,” Migliano told me.
That's why Apple's anti-competitive App Store policies, which enforce a de facto monopoly on app distribution, are so problematic. When Apple puts commercial interests before freedom (always), entire countries are cut off from the open Internet. https://t.co/58HO3INWfoAugust 19, 2024
One of the most popular free VPN services, Proton VPN, acknowledged the issue a day after X was announced and confirmed that the problem was in the app store. “It could be a bug or Apple has implemented a secret censorship order,” the team wrote in a tweet (see above).
Despite these issues, the Swiss VPN provider confirmed to TechRadar that it saw Proton VPN subscriptions rise 580% above baseline since Saturday, echoing a similar spike that occurred in April. At the time, VPN usage in Brazil spiked following suggestions from Musk himself after Brazil launched an investigation into his conduct.
It should be noted that it is not unusual for Apple to comply with blocking orders from authorities. In the most recent case, the tech giant allegedly removed VPN apps from the official store in Russia.
Again, it's unclear at the time of writing whether Apple is acting on Brazilian orders. However, “if these VPN blocks in Brazil are indeed deliberate, they would also have the effect of pushing users towards less reliable VPNs that remain available and may expose their personal data,” Migliano said.
There are still VPN apps available to install on the Apple App Store. These include some secure options like Windscribe, Private Internet Access (PIA), and Mullvad. You can check out the full list compiled by Migliano here.
Is X still available in Brazil?
Despite the social media giant's decision to halt its commercial operations nationwide, the team confirmed that “the X service remains available to people in Brazil.”
This means that whether you live or are visiting the country right now, you shouldn't have any issues accessing the social media app as usual.
However, the possibility of this changing soon is high. Brazil has already imposed temporary bans on online services that failed to comply with its requests. Telegram was temporarily blocked in April last year for failing to hand over data from neo-Nazi chats.
With this in mind, I recommend getting a reliable VPN app as soon as possible to avoid problems 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. Even though our numerous appeals to the Supreme Court were not heard,… pic.twitter.com/Pm2ovyydhEAugust 17, 2024
How a VPN can help
A VPN, short for virtual private network, is a security software that encrypts internet connections and spoofs the user's real IP address. The latter ability is exactly what you need to bypass government-imposed geo-restrictions.
If Brazil does end up banning X, all you have to do is connect to a VPN server located in an unrestricted country. X will see your spoofed IP address and assume you're physically in the same location as the server you chose.
So far, there have been no reported issues when it comes to downloading Android VPN apps from the Google Play store. However, if you are an iPhone user, you may need to look for an alternative or some workarounds to get your chosen app.
Migliano recommends being very careful when choosing an alternative service. “Do your due diligence and read reviews first, as the VPNs that remain available are very varied. Some are very good, others pose a real risk to your privacy,” he told me.
A temporary solution for tech-savvy users could 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 has prepared a dedicated guide for its users with useful tips. However, whenever possible, it is worth trying to download a VPN app directly from the provider's homepage.
We test and evaluate VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example:
1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service).
2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy when you are abroad.
We do not support or tolerate illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Future Publishing does not endorse or approve the consumption of pirated content for which payment is required.
