Iranians are turning to virtual private networks to avoid widespread internet outages as the government tries to cover up its crackdown on mass protests. Largely, in Tehran, more than half of Internet users have turned to the Iran proxy VPN to avoid widespread disruption.
Why the need occurred
The world’s largest media announced that failures in the telecommunications networks of Iran first began on September 19. Internet watchdog groups and digital rights activists say they face daily “curfew”-style network outages when access is cut off from around 4:00 pm local time until late at night.
Tehran has blocked access to WhatsApp and Instagram, the last two social media services left uncensored in Iran. Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and several other platforms have been banned for years.
Death of Mahsa Amini
As you know, protests in Iran began in mid-September after the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini. She was detained by the “morality police” for wearing the wrong hijab. Officials said she died of a heart attack, but her relatives and some human rights groups denied these claims, noting that Amini had been beaten during her detention.
As media reported, at least 31 civilians were killed as Iranian security forces cracked down on the protests.
Several websites also informed that Tehran’s chief prosecutor ordered a police team of forensic experts to study the medical aspects of Amini’s case. Iranian President Ibrahim Raisi asked the Interior Minister to “immediately and with particular attention to investigating the causes of the incident.
How Iran proxy VPN helps the citizens
As a result, Iranians rushed to VPNs, services that encrypt and redirect their traffic to a remote server elsewhere in the world to hide their online activity. This allowed them to reconnect to banned websites and programs.
On September 22, a day after the ban on WhatsApp and Instagram, demand for Iran proxy VPN services skyrocketed by 2164% compared to the previous 28 days. By September 26, demand peaked at 3,082% above average and has since continued to be high at 1,991% above normal.
According to experts, social media is playing a critical role in protests around the world: “This allows the protesters to organize and ensure that the authorities cannot control the narrative and cover up evidence of human rights violations. The decision of the Iranian authorities to block access to these platforms during the protests has led to skyrocketing demand for VPN services.”
The demand is much higher than during the 2019 uprisings, which were fueled by rising fuel prices and led to a nearly 12-day internet blackout. At the time, peak demand was only about 164% higher than normal.
Be aware of scam VPNs
However, one protester showed that his network could not connect to Google despite having set up a VPN. This is a new advanced deep packet inspection technology that the government has developed to make the network extremely unreliable. Such technology allows ISPs and governments to monitor and block data on the network.
Therefore it is crucial to choose only decent and reliable Iran proxy VPN services.
