While TikTok has generated the most headlines when it comes to allegations of your data being secretly sent to China, it turns out that a much bigger threat could have been been hiding on your phone all this time. And this one is much more dangerous.
It has taken a spate of porn bans — first in the U.S. and now in Europe to flush out this risk. As much as smartphone users need their TikTok fix, porn is an even bigger draw. And tens of millions of users are suddenly masking their internet traffic for the first time, pretending to be somewhere they are not to bypass those bans.
This is done by way of virtual private networks or VPNs. The same technology that failed to circumvent TikTok’s short-lived U.S. ban in January. But for porn, VPNs work just fine. vpnMentor saw a “staggering” 6,000% surge in U.K VPN use after restrictions came into effect. The same explosive growth seen in the U.S. and France.
Many of the installed VPNs were free apps topping App Store and Play Store charts. But many of these have a nasty, hidden secret. As Top10VPN’s Simon Migliano warns, “despite being made aware of glaring privacy failures and opaque corporate structures, Google and Apple continue to permit these high-risk apps on their platforms.”
A month ago, the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) issued a report into free VPNs, warning that “millions of Americans have downloaded apps that secretly route their internet traffic through Chinese companies.” It reported on this same threat in April. “Apple and Google app stores continue to offer private browsing apps that are surreptitiously owned by Chinese companies… six weeks after they were identified.”
“In light of these findings,” Migliano warns, “I strongly urge users to avoid Chinese-owned VPNs altogether.” He says “the risks are too great” to keep them on your phone. And free VPN warnings are now surging almost as fast as the VPNs themselves.
As BeyondTrust’s James Maude told me “if you aren’t paying for a product, you are the product. These VPNs are a perfect example of the hidden costs of free apps where users seeking privacy are potentially unknowingly feeding data to a foreign nation state.”
Google told me it is “committed to compliance with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws. When we locate accounts that may violate these laws, our related policies or Terms of Service, we take appropriate action.”
While Apple says it enforces App Store rules but does not differentiate its handling of apps by the location of their developers, albeit VPNs are prohibited from sharing data.
My advice is to open either the App Store on your iPhone or the Play Store on your Android, and then search for “free VPN.” You should delete any apps listed as installed on your phone that highlight that “free VPN” tag, unless they are linked to blue-chip, western technology firms that provide other security offerings.
Meanwhile, here’s the TTP list of Chinese apps you should search for:
Apple App Store:
- X-VPN – Super VPN & Best Proxy
- Ostrich VPN – Proxy Master
- VPN Proxy Master – Super VPN
- Turbo VPN Private Browser
- VPNIFY – Unlimited VPN
- VPN Proxy OvpnSpider
- WireVPN – Fast VPN & Proxy
- Now VPN – Best VPN Proxy
- Speedy Quark VPN – VPN Proxy
- Best VPN Proxy AppVPN
- HulaVPN – Best Fast Secure VPN,
- Wirevpn – Secure & Fast VPN
- Pearl VPN
Google Play Store:
- Turbo VPN – Secure VPN Proxy
- VPN Proxy Master – Safer Vpn
- X-VPN – Private Browser VPN
- Speedy Quark VPN – VPN Master
- Ostrich VPN – Proxy Unlimited
- Snap VPN: Super Fast VPN Proxy
- Signal Secure VPN – Robot VPN
- VPN Proxy OvpnSpider
- HulaVPN – Fast Secure VPN
- VPN Proxy AppVPN