In 2022-2024, Apple removed 190 apps from the Russian App Store at Roskomnadzor’s request, Novaya Gazeta Europe noted. This follows from the company’s own published “transparency reports.” In 2024, Russia ranked second in the number of apps removed at the authorities’ request, behind only China.
The number of apps removed from the Russian App Store increased every year. In 2022, seven apps were removed from the store, in 2023 — 12, and in 2024 — 171. Data for earlier periods are unavailable, and figures for 2025 have not yet been published. The corporation does not disclose which specific apps were removed.
Apple also explains which laws state authorities cited in their successful requests to remove apps. In most cases — 182 out of 190 — Roskomnadzor relied on the law “On Information.” It sets out grounds for blocking websites, ranging from distributing materials of “undesirable organizations” to calls for terrorism. Another seven apps were removed for violating the law “On the Bank of Russia,” which is used to combat illegal securities trading and fraudsters, and one more under the law “On Personal Data.”
In 2024, media outlets reported several cases of apps being removed from AppStore. For example, the FBK app “ Фотон-2024 ” became unavailable; it allowed users to randomly determine which of Vladimir Putin’s three opponents to vote for in the presidential election. Apps of the U.S. media holding Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, “ Свобода ”, “ Радио Азаттык ”, “ Настоящее время ”, as well as 98 VPN apps, were also removed.