Recent research conducted by RKS Global has unveiled a significant trend among popular Android applications in Russia, revealing that 22 out of the top 30 apps actively monitor whether users have a VPN service enabled. This finding was initially reported by the Russian business news outlet The Bell on April 10.
Banking Apps Lead the Charge
The study highlights that banking applications are at the forefront of this monitoring activity. Notable names such as T-Bank, Sberbank, VTB, and Alfa-Bank are among those that check for VPN usage. Additionally, popular applications from Yandex and VK, including Yandex Browser, Yandex Maps, VKontakte, and Odnoklassniki, also engage in similar practices.
Marketplaces and Messaging Apps Join In
In the realm of online marketplaces, Wildberries, Ozon, MegaMarket, and Samokat have been identified as apps that track VPN status. Other notable mentions include Avito, 2GIS, and the state-backed messaging application Max. In contrast, several apps such as Yandex Market, Yandex Food, Gosuslugi, Yandex Go, Dzen, Mail.ru Mail, MegaFon, and Mir Pay do not engage in VPN detection.
Data Transmission Practices
The research further reveals that 18 of the 30 applications studied transmit VPN status data to their own servers. An even larger number, 24 apps, send a list of installed applications back to their servers. The researchers noted, “If Sberbank is sitting next to a VPN client, the developers and security services know about it.”
Unique Monitoring Techniques
Among the apps examined, Yandex Browser stood out as the only one that actively searches for the Tor anonymity browser on devices. Furthermore, both Samokat and MegaMarket retrieve comprehensive lists of all VPN applications installed on users’ devices.
Government Regulations on VPN Usage
In a bid to tighten control over VPN usage, Russia’s Digital Development Ministry has mandated that major internet platforms restrict access to their services for users with VPNs enabled, with a compliance deadline set for April 15.
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