Google and Apple Cash In While Chinese VPNs Harvest Your Data

Digital privacy advocates are raising an alarm. Chinese-owned VPN apps are still listed in Apple’s and Google’s US app stores. These apps promise anonymity and protection, but they're quietly funneling data and profits back to China. Worse still, Apple and Google are complicit.

The Tech Transparency Project conducted spot checks and found thirteen VPN apps in Apple’s US App Store and eleven in Google Play that have ties to Chinese companies. Some are directly linked to Qihoo 360, a Chinese cybersecurity firm under US sanctions. Their ownership is masked by shell companies registered in Singapore, coupled with innocuous developer names. Despite this, these VPNs see all your browsing activity. Under Chinese law, companies are required to hand over user data to the government upon request, making them potential surveillance tools.

What makes this situation alarming is that Apple and Google continue to profit. Most of these VPN apps offer free access but monetize through in-app subscriptions and ads. Apple takes up to 30 percent of all purchases in its app store. Google’s fee structure is similar. In other words, your data is not only being harvested, it’s funding the platforms that host these apps.

Apple publicly enforces a rule prohibiting VPN apps from selling or sharing personal data. Google claims it requires transparency on app behavior. Yet neither company is enforcing this when it matters. Apps tied to Qihoo 360 remain live weeks after red flags were first raised. Even after some were quietly removed, many others continue unabated.

Users seeking privacy are being betrayed. They assume that installing a VPN from Apple or Google means protection from prying eyes. Instead, they may be exposing their most sensitive information to foreign actors while Big Tech simply pockets a share of subscription revenue.

If you value your data privacy, the time to act is now. Before installing any VPN app, especially a free one, research the company behind it. Choose reputable providers audited for privacy and headquartered in jurisdictions with strong data protection laws.

Remain alert to these hidden risks. This isn’t about using a VPN or not. It’s about knowing who holds your keys and whether you’re unknowingly handing them over.

We believe soon we will learn some really disturbing facts about both platforms that many are not prepared to hear.