- Turkey has blocked access to all most important social media platforms since evening Sunday 7th September 2025
- X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and WhatsApp have all been affected, according to an internet watchdog
- Proton VPN has recorded an increase of over 500% on an hourly basis on the night on Sunday
Turkey is currently blocking access to all the most important social media platforms as political tensions grow in the country.
X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and WhatsApp all became dark on several networks from the evening Sunday 7 September 2025, as busy with internet watchdog Netblocks. “The incident comes as the most important opposition party CHP [Republican People’s Party] Calls for events after police headquarters in Istanbul, ”Netblocks reported.
Isik Mater, director of research at Netblocks, confirmed to Techradar that the situation remains unchanged at the time of writing, “with networking in Istanbul specifically targeted,” she added.
Citizens have not wasted time, and immediately approached the best VPN apps to maintain access to blocked social media platforms. For example, Proton VPN registered an increase in registrations of more than 500% on an hourly basis on the night of Sunday.
When talking to Techradar, a Proton spokesman who activates his stealth protocol and the alternative routing setting for a better chance of avoiding social media blocks. “It may require a few extra steps and a few attempts, but this is the optimal way to connect to under these circumstances.”
Proton also recommends only downloading its Virtual Private Network (VPN) app via the official App Store. At Desktop, users can do so via Protons Gift Hub page if its official site is also blocked.
Not the first time
This is far from the first time Proton VPN, currently ranked as one of the best free VPN services on the market, has registered similar spikes in use in Turkey as citizens are trying to navigate online disorders.
In March, the provider registered an increase of +1100%as the government closed all the most important social media platforms for 42 hours.
Before that, by 2024, Proton VPN signed up with 1,400% in October and 4,500% in August in the middle of similar blocks on social media services.
Citizens turned increasingly to Proton VPN in 2023. The company recorded a staggering increase of 15,000% in February after Twitter was blocked after a deadly earthquake and a 2,100% increase in May as citizens were preparing for potential blocks prior to the presidential election.
All this means, Proton explains that many Internet users in Turkey have already downloaded Proton VPN over the years. Therefore, “the increases are typically smaller than in other regions,” a Proton VPN spokesman told Techradar.
These spikes have taken place despite the fact that Proton VPN is among the 27 VPN providers limited in Turkey, along with NordVPN, Surfshark, ExpressVPN and others. Specifically, their official sites are blocked in the country.
All in all, this latest case marks according to Surfshark’s data Turkey’s 18th Internet restriction since 2015, which affects X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok and WhatsApp.
