Interest in VPN has grown following the news that Chinese-made apps, including Tiktok and WeChat, will be banned in the U.S.
Virtual private networks, or VPNs, allow users to hide and fake their location. In China, where the CCP blocks Facebook and Google, citizens use VPN to get access to said apps.
Increasing Interest in VPN, VPN Downloads
Following news that President Donald Trump could restrict access to Chinese-made apps, U.S. citizens turn to VPN.
Data show that there have been numerous searches for VPN providers last August. While the TikTok ban will mostly affect younger users, the prohibition on WeChat can potentially harm communication between family members.
Many Chinese people in the U.S. use the app to keep in touch with their families living in China. An exponential increase in VPN usage is projected because of the massive user bases of both TikTok and WeChat.
According to Markuson, NordVPN has 14 million global users. Following the news of access restriction, users’ interest in VPN grew almost instantly.
“Expecting a (TikTok) ban to go into effect on Sunday, people rushed looking for VPN more actively: this weekend alone inquiries from the U.S. surged by 34%.”
NordVPN digital privacy expert Daniel Markuson
On the other hand, ExpressVPN also said that there had been a sudden increase in VPN interest.
“We saw a 20% increase in traffic to our website from the U.S. following Trump’s initial announcement of a potential TikTok and WeChat ban in early August.”
ExpressVPN vice president Harold Li
Another VPN firm Surfshark said that they, too, have noticed a significant increase in free trials.
“Comparing last weekend (12-13 Sept.) to this weekend (19-20 Sept.), we reported a 38% surge in free trials. Since TikTok aims to reach Generation Z, the ‘mobile-first’ generation, I presume it might be connected.”
VPN firm Surfshark
Moreover, another VPN provider called Incognito VPN also reported the same news.
“Some users in the U.S. are worried if I can’t access TikTok or WeChat maybe now I have to use VPN in the U.S. to access other apps in China, which is really, really ironic.”
Edith Yeung, general partner at Race Capital
Yeung also told CNBC that she uses WeChat to talk to her mom; with news of restriction, Yeung started talking about using VPN services with her mom.