Russia's Ministry of Digital Development sent the country's largest internet companies recommendations on detecting VPN services on users' devices, RBC reported, citing the relevant document.
The mailing followed a series of meetings involving the ministry, where measures to limit VPN use were discussed.
The document describes a three-stage verification mechanism: first, companies are expected to determine a device's IP address and compare it with lists of Russian and blocked addresses; then, they are to try to detect VPN use through their own application; and finally, they are to check for the presence of VPNs on devices running operating systems other than iOS and Android.
At the same time, the ministry notes that the second stage is "significantly limited" on Apple devices: in iOS, access to system settings is restricted, and apps are isolated from one another and cannot obtain data about how other services operate. In Android, by contrast, there are ConnectivityManager and NetworkCapabilities tools that allow apps to obtain information about the current network connection, including VPN use.
The guidance also lists cases in which detecting a VPN is difficult or impossible, for example if it is configured at the router level: in that situation, no traces of its use remain on the device itself.
In addition, the ministry plans to create a "whitelist" of corporate VPNs and legitimate proxy servers that businesses use to give employees secure access to work resources.
The recommendations also emphasize separately that constant searching for VPNs on users' devices is undesirable, because it may lead to increased data consumption and faster battery drain.
According to RBC, the ministry asked Russia's largest platforms to restrict access to their services for users with VPNs enabled.