The App Store and Google Play Store are home to several VPN apps that put users' privacy at risk. According to an investigation conducted by the Tech Transparency Project research group and the Financial Times, both platforms offer five apps with ties to the Chinese military for download. Apps linked to the same Chinese group: Qihoo 360 As the Financial Times explains in its article, some of the apps identified by Tech Transparency Project researchers are in fact developed by Innovative Connecting Pte. This Singaporean company is owned by Lemon Seed Technology, a Cayman Islands-based company. This one belongs to Qihoo 360, a company considered a "Chinese military enterprise" by the "Department of Defense" of the United States.
This company has close ties to the Chinese People's Liberation Army. It is linked to "a Chinese cybersecurity company blacklisted by the US government", the media adds. Other applications are developed by companies linked to Guangzhou Lianchuang Technology... which is a subsidiary of Qihoo 360. According to the media's investigation, the owner of the subsidiary is the former head of Qihoo's phone security department. He is also the director of Lemon Seed Technology. The investigation suggests that the companies are seeking to circumvent US sanctions.
Furthermore, the Financial Times investigators consulted job offers posted online by the group's companies. These include tasks such as "monitoring and analyzing platform data." For these tasks, the company recruited employees "familiar with American culture."
The 5 apps to uninstall from your smartphone
After analyzing 100 VPN apps available on the App Store and Play Store, the Tech Transparency Project estimated that "millions of Americans are inadvertently sending their internet traffic to Chinese companies." This is obviously also true for internet users living in Europe. These companies are "obliged to transmit their users' browsing data to the Chinese government under the country's national security laws." The Tech Transparency Project refers to a 2017 law.
China's national security law requires all companies, local or foreign, to cooperate with the authorities. At the government's request, they must hand over their users' personal data, including browsing history, as part of national security investigations. The law applies to both Chinese companies and local subsidiaries of foreign companies. Researchers recommend uninstalling the five apps that are linked to the Chinese military, namely:
- Turbo VPN
- VPN Proxy Master
- Thunder VPN
- Snap VPN
- Signal Secure VPN
Apple and Google react
Three of these apps have more than a million downloads on App Store and Play Store in 2025, Sensor Tower reports. Contacted by the Financial Times, Apple said it intends to take "steps to remove apps that violate its rules," but suggests that VPNs produced by firms linked to Chinese groups will not be excluded from the App Store without further cause. Apple has removed Snap VPN and Thunder VPN from its app store. The other three apps are still available.
For its part, Google assures that it is "committed to complying with applicable sanctions and trade compliance laws", referring to the sanctions imposed by the US government to combat Chinese espionage. When we "locate accounts that may violate these laws, our policies, or our related terms of use, we take appropriate action." Nevertheless, all pinned apps are still available on the Play Store, as 01Net has found. As a precaution, we recommend sticking to well-known and reputable VPN services, such as NordVPN, ExpressVPN, or ProtonVPN.
Source: Tech Transparency Project
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