"Tens of millions of Russians use VPNs to access the global internet. This number grew dramatically at the outset of their country's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, after the Kremlin introduced sweeping bans of platforms like Facebook and Instagram."
"The investigation analysed 30 popular Russian apps, including those run by T-Bank, Sberbank, the search engine site Yandex and the social media platform VKontakte. It found that 22 of these apps actively detected whether a user was on a VPN or had one installed on their phone."
"For millions of Russians, this means that their options to interact with the rest of the world are narrowing and growing increasingly fraught with risk."
Major Russian companies are monitoring users of VPN tools to enforce online restrictions imposed by the Kremlin. An investigation revealed that 22 out of 30 popular Russian apps actively detect VPN usage and retain user data, which can be accessed by security services. The use of VPNs has surged since the invasion of Ukraine, as citizens seek to bypass bans on platforms like Facebook and Instagram. This heightened surveillance poses significant risks for users, limiting their ability to connect with the global internet.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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