- New research found that Apple and Google continue to offer VPN -Apps without revealing their Chinese ownership
- At least five may have ties to a Shanghai-based firm is assumed to have connections with the Chinese military
- Experts first revealed this threat in April 2025
At least 17 China-bound free VPN apps can still be hidden in Apple and Google App stores, and Big Tech could make money revealed by new research.
In April, experts at the TECH Transparency Project (TTP) revealed first that millions of millions Of free VPN users across 20 apps may have sent their data to China without knowing it. Five of these were reported to have ties with Qihoo 360, a Shanghai-based company assumed to have connections with the Chinese military.
Now, approx. Six weeks later, TTP scientists have found that most of these VPNs are still available in the US Apple and Google App stores. They also said to have found evidence that Apple and Google can also benefit from these apps.
Which are the free VPNs affected?
TTP’s original report found that more than 20 of the 100 free VPNs available in the US Apple App Store had not revealed ties with China.
Five of these apps (Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, Thunder VPN, SNAP VPN and Signal Secure VPN) are allegedly associated with Qihoo 360 – a company that the US sanctioned on national security reasons for its alleged ties to the Chinese military in June 2020.
While the best VPN services promise to increase online privacy life and work with strict policies without log, Chinese-owned VPNs are subjected to stricter data storage rules and can be forced to share user data with the government upon request.
After another check in May, an update to the report claims that despite some of these removed, “two other apps linked to Qihoo 360-TURBO VPN and VPN Proxy Master-Affected Available in the US Apple App Store along with 11 other Chinese-owned apps identified in TTP’s report.”
The latter are X -VPN, ostrich VPN, VPNIFY, 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 stores continue to offer VPNs, which are awkwardly owned by Chinese companies, over 6 weeks after TTP first identified them. The latest findings also show that Apple and Google can benefit from these apps by taking a reduction in subscription revenue. pic.twitter.com/fgzvbhptowJune 12, 2025
Researchers also found that the Google Play store in the US offered 11 free VPN apps with shady Chinese ownership, which includes four Qihoo 360-connected services (Turbo VPN, VPN Proxy Master, SNAP VPN and Signal Secure VPN).
The other is X-VPN, Speedy Quark VPN, VPNIFY, Ostrich VPN, VPN Proxy Ovpnspider, Hulavpn and VPNProxy Appvpn.
Not only that. During TTP’s May-Check, researchers noticed that some of the VPNs listed as free in the app stores offers purchases in the app on top.
“That means Apple and Google may benefit from these Chinese-owned VPNs when Americans pay for subscriptions or other additions,” the new report reads.
In the Google Play store, some of the Chinese-owned VPNs also come with a banner that says they contain advertisements.
TTP said Apple, Google, Qihoo 360 and most of the listed developers of apps did not respond to their request for comment.
Techradar approached both Google and Apple for a comment.
Apple told Techradar that the company has some strict guidelines for VPN app developers, including not using or passing on any data for any purpose to third parties. Still, Apple said it does not limit the app distribution based on where the provider is based.
We are still waiting for a response from Google at the time of publication.
We can confirm that the China-bound VPN apps are also available in the UK’s official app stores, and it is probably that other markets are also affected.
If you are looking for a reliable free VPN service, we recommend that you check our dedicated guide here. Today’s top recommendations are Privado VPN and Proton VPN.
