MOSCOW, March 11. /TASS/. The demand for VPN-services in Russia from February 24 to March 1 soared by 13.7 times compared to a week earlier, Ivan Samoylenko, managing partner of the communications agency B&C Agency, told TASS. The surge was prompted by the blocking of social networks and restrictions for Russian users after the start of a special operation in Ukraine.
"Due to the situation with social networks in Russia, the demand for VPN has increased dramatically. Over the week [it soared] by 1,268%. There is also data from February 24 to March 5 on the number of people who installed VPN applications in the App Store and Google Play during this period they were installed by at least 5 million people," Samoylenko said.
From March 5 to the present, the number of downloads could also grow by 3-5 times compared to the same period in February, as Russians are looking for alternative ways to communicate in foreign social networks, the expert specified.
In turn, the manager of RTM Group, Evgeny Tsarev, confirmed that since March 4, the number of downloads of applications for VPN services has increased by about 10 times compared to the same period last year. There is no reason to expect a direct increase in prices for applications, however, since most of these services accept payments in dollars, their services for Russians will become more expensive.
"VPN services are designed in such a way that the calculation is made in accordance with the maximum number of users who pay. In short, the more users, the less the service costs per user. Thus, with an increase in users, the price, on the contrary, should decrease. However, most services accept payment in dollars, and in this sense, the service for Russians will rise in price," Tsarev explained.
Security and risks
Despite the growth in demand, the use of VPN services is fraught with risks, says Samoylenko. Some free applications can steal user data, and against the backdrop of sanctions, owners of foreign applications have the right to unilaterally refuse to provide services to Russians.
Paid apps tend to be more secure, he says, because their developers care about data privacy and ensure constant access.
Group-IB also believes that using free VPNs carries risks.
"If such a server was created and controlled by cybercriminals, then they can intercept all user traffic, redirect it to fake phishing sites, collect unencrypted data - and passwords and email correspondence can leak. In addition, there have been cases when malware disguised itself as VPN-application, for example, spyware mimicked a VPN from a well-known Russian integrator," the Group-IB press service said.
After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, TikTok closed the RT and Sputnik channels in Europe. YouTube, Google and Meta (owner of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp) have disabled monetization for bloggers and limited the display of content. The Russian media watchdog also began to restrict access to Facebook. Since then, Facebook and Instagram users in Russia began to report problems with social networks.