Google is resisting Russian censorship demands – but top VPNs have been removed from the Play Store

212 VPN apps on the Google Play Store have been targeted by Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor, as the country continues its censorship drive.

Between March 12 and April 1 2025, 214 App Takedown Requests were issued. These affected some of the best VPNs and represented over 90% of all takedown requests sent to Google during the period.

But Google appears to be resisting Russia's demands, with only 6 of the 212 VPN apps targeted unavailable on the Google Play Store.

47 requests were sent on March 12, which prompted the anti-censorship organization, GreatFire, to investigate.

GreatFire's App Censorship Project analyzed a total of 399 VPN apps, and 346 (87%) remain available on the Russian Google Play Store.

Google is largely standing firm in the face of Russian censorship. But we'd argue it shouldn't be complying with any removal requests that further state censorship.

Despite 87% remaining available, the fact 13% of VPNs have been removed is disappointing.

53 VPNs unavailable

53 of the 399 VPN apps tested were unavailable on the Russian Google Play Store.

Of the six unavailable apps from the targeted 212, two have been unavailable since at least 2023, one since mid-2024, with the status of the remaining three unclear.

Another six targeted VPNs disappeared from the Play Store globally. The time and reasons for removal are unclear.

GreatFire found 47 additional unavailable VPN apps that were not specifically targeted by recent requests. Of those, 20 have been unavailable since the start of 2024 or earlier.

URL takedown requests were also uncovered by GreatFire. The first notice, dated March 10 2025, requested the removal of over 40,608 URLs from Google Web Search under Russia's "VPN law" – of which it has some of the strictest in the world.

Another notice on March 26 targeted more than 43,099 URLs. Additional requests targeted content relating to the Ukraine war, LGBTQ+ topics, poetry, and songs.

"The Russian government is waging an all-out war on VPNs and other tools enabling Russian citizens to bypass censorship and surveillance," said Benjamin Ismail, GreatFire's Campaign and Advocacy Director.

"The systematic targeting of hundreds of VPNs and tens of thousands of URLs constitutes a de facto blanket ban on VPNs, regardless of official statements claiming VPN usage remains legal," Ismail added.

He went on to say that "Google's actions will critically shape the effectiveness of Russian government censorship."

Impact on the best VPNs

A number of the best VPNs are not currently listed on the Russian Google Play Store. NordVPN, Surfshark, and ExpressVPN, our current top three providers, are all unavailable.

GreatFire data shows NordVPN was removed in December 2023, having shut down its Russian servers in 2019. It shows Surfshark was removed in March 2024 and ExpressVPN was removed between June and August 2024.

However, Surfshark confirmed to Tom's Guide that it "ceased all operations" in Russia, and has no presence or servers in the country, as of March 2022.

ExpressVPN said: "ExpressVPN voluntarily removed our applications from Russian app stores in 2024 for operational reasons."

"We re-enabled our Store listing earlier this month and, to date, have not received the takedown notice supposedly issued to Google."

Private Internet Access (PIA) and CyberGhost are two other big hitters that aren't available. GreatFire data shows PIA was removed sometime between May and December 2024. CyberGhost was removed sometime between June and September 2024.

Two of the most private VPNs, Proton VPN and Mullvad, are still available to download from the Russian Google Play Store.

This is all data recorded by GreatFire and Tom's Guide is unable to verify it first hand.

Proton VPN is one of the only VPNs to still offer physical servers in Russia. It boasts 53 Plus servers, all located in Moscow, and three Secure Core servers. Proton VPN also includes a number of anti-censorship features designed to bypass internet restrictions.

Despite already being unavailable, ExpressVPN was one of the VPNs included in removal requests dated March 13. IPVanish was also included in this list but currently remains available on the Russian Google Play Store.

If you have these VPNs already downloaded then they should work in Russia. However, given Russia's volatile and sophisticated internet restrictions, this isn't always a guarantee.

When Russia disrupted the internet in several regions in December 2024, domestic websites and foreign ones, including YouTube and Google, were unable to be accessed even with a VPN.

VyprVPN is considered one of the best Russia VPNs thanks to its Chameleon protocol, and it is currently available on the Russian Google Play Store.

How to get a VPN in Russia

If the VPN you desire is available to download then you can access it this way. But you can still access certain VPNs even if they've been removed from the Google Play or Apple App Stores.

Many VPNs can be downloaded directly from GitHub – Proton VPN offers this option. If you're looking for one of the best Android VPNs, then F-Droid is a good place to explore.

Some VPNs can be downloaded straight from the providers website and many offer Chrome extensions. The best Chrome VPN extensions are not as feature-heavy as the full VPN product, but can be a lifeline for those living under censorship.

NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN, Proton VPN, and others all offer a Chrome extension. Windscribe Free is a popular free extension choice and along with Proton VPN Free and PrivadoVPN Free, is one of the best free VPNs out there.