Among the affected apps are Hide.me and PrivadoVPN. In communication to one of the affected developers, seen by TechCrunch, Apple cited a “demand” from the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, which deemed the developer content to contravene Indian law.
The ministry, as well as Apple, Google and Cloudflare, did not respond to requests for comment.
This enforcement action marks the first significant implementation of India’s 2022 regulatory framework governing VPN apps. The rules mandate that VPN providers and cloud service operators maintain comprehensive records of their customers, including names, addresses, IP addresses and transaction histories, for a five-year period.