- New research has revealed that Apple and Google continue to offer VPN applications without revealing their Chinese property
- At least five can have links with a Shanghai -based society believed to have links with the Chinese army
- Experts discovered this threat for the first time in April 2025
At least 17 free VPN applications related to China can still be hidden in Apple and Google App stores, and Big Tech could make a profit – as revealed new research.
In April, Tech Transparency Project (TTP) experts first discovered that millions Free VPN users on 20 applications may have sent their data to China without knowing it. Five of them would have links with Qihoo 360, a company based in Shanghai which would have links with the Chinese army.
Now, about six weeks later, TTP researchers have discovered that most of these VPNs are still available in Apple and Google Apple and Google stores. They also said they found evidence that Apple and Google could also take advantage of these applications.
What are the affected free VPNs?
The initial TTP report revealed that more than 20 of the 100 best free VPNs available on the Apple Apple App Store had unknown links with China.
Five of these applications (Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, Thunder VPN, Snap VPN and Sick Secure VPN) would be linked to Qihoo 360 – a company that the United States has sanctioned national security reasons for its alleged links with the Chinese army in June 2020.
While the best VPN services promise to stimulate online confidentiality and work with strict log-log policies, VPN belonging to Chinese are subject to stricter data retention rules and may be forced to share user data with the government on request.
After another check in May, an update of the report claims that, although some of them are withdrawn, “two other applications related to Qihoo 360 – Turbo VPN and VPN Master – remained available in the Apple Apple App Store, as well as 11 other applications belonging to China, identified in the TTP report.”
These are X -VPN, Ostrich VPN, VPFIF, VPN Proxy OVPNSPIDER, WIREVPN – Fast VPN & PROXY, now VPN, Speedy Quark VPN, Best VPN Proxy Appvpn, Hulavpn and Pearl VPN.
NEW: Apple and Google’s App Outromes continue to offer VPNs which surreptitiously belong to Chinese companies, more than 6 weeks after TTP identified them. The latest discoveries also show that Apple and Google can take advantage of these applications by taking a reduction in subscription income. pic.twitter.com/fgzvbhptowJune 12, 2025
Researchers also found that Google Play Store in the United States offered 11 free VPN applications with a shaded Chinese property, which includes four services connected to 360 Qihoo (Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, Snap VPN and STORE SIGURE VPN).
The others are X-VPN, Speedy Quark VPN, VPIFY, OSTRICH VPN, VPN Proxy OVPNSPIDER, HULAVPN and VPNPROXY APPVPN.
Not only, however. During the TTP spot check, researchers noticed that some of the VPNs listed as free in application stores offer integrated purchases.
“This means that Apple and Google can take advantage of these VPNs belonging to Chinese when Americans pay subscriptions or other complementary modules,” said the new report.
On the Google Play Store, some of the VPNs belonging to Chinese are also delivered with a banner saying that they contain advertisements.
TTP said that Apple, Google, Qihoo 360 and most of the developers listed in applications did not respond to their comment request.
Techradar approached Google and Apple for a comment.
Apple told Techradar that the company had strict guidelines in place for VPN application developers, including not to use or disclose data for purposes for third parties. However, Apple said that it did not limit the distribution of applications according to where the supplier is based.
We are still waiting for a Google response at the time of publication.
We can confirm that China-related VPN applications are also available in the UK official application stores, and other markets are also allocated.
If you are looking for a trustworthy free VPN service, we recommend that you consult our dedicated guide here. Today’s best recommendations are Privado VPN and Proton VPN.
