- Egypt has reportedly blocked Discord since the weekend
- Proton VPN has confirmed an increase in usage as a result of the ban
- Discord is also banned in Jordan, Turkey and Russia
Discord users in Egypt have been left scrambling for alternatives after the popular communications platform suddenly stopped working across major ISPs over the weekend.
Reports of the outage began flooding social media on Saturday, with users complaining of connection failures and being “stuck on loading screens,” indicative of a potential government-level shutdown rather than a simple service outage.
As it has become the standard response to digital censorship in the region, users have immediately sought it out best VPN services to bypass the restrictions. Confirmation of this exodus came quickly from Proton VPN, a popular choice thanks to its secure free VPN app.
Proton VPN signups from Egypt 🇪🇬 surged significantly (+103%) on Saturday amid reports that Discord has been blocked by WE (Telecom Egypt) and Vodafone. This follows recent trends in Egypt restricting some social and VoIP platforms in an attempt to crack down on burgeoning youth-led activism. pic.twitter.com/W8q3E1fiLM11 January 2026
David Peterson, General Manager at Proton VPN, shared data on X and revealed a dramatic increase in VPN usage originating from Egypt. The data indicates that as soon as Discord’s servers became unavailable on Saturday, Egyptian netizens started downloading the VPN en masse to tunnel through the block.
“Free ProtonVPN signups from Egypt continue to accelerate as the blocking of Discord in the country appears to be expanding, affecting more users,” Peterson wrote in an update Monday, as new signups reach over 250% increase over normal levels.
This incident marks another flashpoint in the ongoing tug-of-war between internet freedom and state control in the MENA region. For many, a VPN is no longer just a privacy tool; it is an important tool for maintaining basic communication.
Why is Discord blocked in Egypt?
Although there has been no official statement from Egypt’s National Telecommunications Authority (NTRA), the pattern is well known. Egypt has a history of restricting VoIP (Voice over IP) services to protect revenues from state-owned telecommunications providers and control encrypted communications.
It’s also not the first time Discord is in the crosshairs. The app has reportedly suffered temporary throttling and blocking in Egypt before, often forcing gamers and remote workers to rely on VPNs for weeks at a time.
This move follows a worrying trend of Discord bans across the region. In late 2025, Jordan blocked Discord following similar bans in Turkey and Russia, leaving millions of users disconnected from their communities.
As reported by Newsweek, young people in Marcocco and Nepal have used Discord as a platform to organize a wave of protests across the country.
How a VPN restores access
For those unfamiliar with the technology, a Virtual Private Network (VPN) works by creating an encrypted tunnel between your device and a server in another country.
Using a VPN not only increases users’ online privacy and security, but it also tricks their Internet Service Providers (ISPs) into thinking they are browsing from a completely different country.
This allows you to bypass local blocks. All you need to do is choose a VPN server located outside of Egypt or any other country where Discord is currently blocked.
As the digital walls close, the data Peterson shares highlights a robust user base that refuses to be interrupted. Whether this blocking is a temporary bug or a permanent policy remains to be seen, but for now the VPN tunnel is the only way out.
