More Iranians are relying on virtual private network (VPN) apps to combat the government's censorship of select social media services in the country, according to the latest research.
Since the commotion started last month, residents are protesting over the questionable internet shutdown that limits their rights as a citizen.
Top10VPN says that the demand for VPN use hit over 3,000%. The increase was recorded from Sept. 22 to Oct. 3.
VPN Demand Among Iranians Keep on Skyrocketing
CNBC reported that Cloudflare and NetBlocks, two firms responsible for internet monitoring and security, said that the series of outages first hit the telecom networks in Iran last Sept. 19.
Since then, people have been protesting on the streets because of the massive disruptions that happen daily. For some digital rights activists, it curtails their freedom and can be compared to a "curfew-style" approach when it comes to internet usage.
Following this crackdown, Tehran continues to block Instagram and Whatsapp in the country. For years, the government has been strict about what social media services Iranians can use. Popular apps such as Facebook and Twitter have been non-existent for many years because of the nationwide ban.
To bypass the internet, Iranians think of using VPNs which could hide their activity from the authorities. In doing so, they could also access blocked apps and websites.
Top10VPN researchers concluded that there was an influx in the number of Iranians who are using VPNs since the ban on IG and WhatsApp became effective.
From Sept. 22 to Sept. 26, the demand for VPNs abruptly increased to 3,082%. To date, it's still skyrocketing and it shows no signs of stopping as the protest intensifies.
"Demand for VPN services to circumvent the social media blocks rocketed by 2,164% on Sept. 22 compared to the 28 days prior. VPN demand rose further still in the following days, peaking at 3,082% higher than before the protests on Sept. 26," Simon Migliano, the head of research of Top10VPN said in a recent update.
Amid the ongoing protests in the country, Tesla CEO Elon Musk said that he will activate the Starlink internet service across Iran.
Related Article: International Hacktivists Are Cyberattacking Iran In Support of Widespread Protests
Internet Censorship Drives People to Use VPNs
In a report by CNET on Thursday, Oct. 6, ProtonVPN, a VPN service provider based in Switzerland has found out that there's a connection between internet censorship and VPN usage.
Based on its 18-month analysis, ProtonVPN discovered that more Azerbaijanis signed up for their VPN program when the government imposed wide-scale censorship amid the country's scuffle with Armenia.
Furthermore, the company found that when Senegal authorities blocked the internet access and social media apps in the country, ProtonVPN sign-ups dramatically rose to 400 times above the average number of sign-ups.
Read Also: China Reportedly Blocks Anti-Censorship Tools - Could This Be a 'Great Firewall' Upgrade?
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Written by Joseph Henry
