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Russia Leads World in Apple App Store Takedowns, Removing 1,213 Apps in 2025
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Russia has emerged as the global leader in removing applications from Apple's App Store, accelerating what Ukrainian officials described as the construction of a digital "iron curtain" around its citizens.
This was reported by Ukraine's Center for Countering Disinformation on its official website on May 26.
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In 2025, 1,213 applications were removed from the Russian segment of the App Store at the request of Roskomnadzor, the country's communications regulator. The figure derives from Apple's annual transparency report and marks a sharp escalation in year-on-year takedowns:
7 applications in 2022;
12 applications in 2023;
171 applications in 2024;
1,213 applications in 2025.
The 2025 total placed Russia ahead of every other country in government-requested takedowns, well ahead of Vietnam at 335 and China at 196.
A substantial share of the deletions consists of VPN services and tools designed to circumvent state-imposed blocks.
The Center noted that the Kremlin is systematically eliminating Russians' remaining means of safely reaching free resources, maintaining digital privacy, and using foreign platforms.
Russian authorities have set a course toward total control of the digital environment, the Center added, stripping the country's internet of its last remaining freedoms.
The Kremlin is consistently building an isolated system in which users will be left with state propaganda and rigid censorship in place of global technologies.
The accelerating clampdown on applications forms part of a long-term strategy to seal off Russian society from international information flows, predating the full-scale war in Ukraine.
Following the initial blocks on Facebook and Instagram in 2022, Russian authorities moved against YouTube and, by 2026, expanded the campaign to tighten control over Telegram, WhatsApp, and TikTok.
International platforms reportedly still account for roughly 53% to 71% of usage among Russian citizens, though that share is expected to shrink as the restrictions deepen.
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