News
VPN usage in Russia skyrockets by 10,000% following Instagram ban
March 2022 by Atlas VPN
The demand for VPNs continues to snowball due to new restrictions imposed by the Russian government, according to our latest findings which we’ll introduce below.
The new wave of VPN installs originating from Russia began on March 11, 2022, when the Russian government’s communication agency announced it would block Instagram in Russia starting on March 14, 2022.
Consequently, on March 14, 2022, VPN installs in Russia reached an all-time high and surged by 11,253%, above the norm.
The ban on Instagram was, supposedly, in response to Facebook’s decision to temporarily allow users in some countries to call for violence against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian soldiers in the context of the invasion.
VPN queries on Google reached an all-time high
Naturally, Russian citizens are turning to Google to inquire about Virtual Private Networks, which, they hope, will help them to avoid online restrictions and censorship.
Using the Google Trends platform, Atlas VPN acquired the number of “VPN” searches in Russia over the last 30 days.
In accordance with the findings based on our internal data, the dramatic upsurge in VPN interest began around three weeks ago, on March 25, 2022.
Even though users in Russia began showing interest in VPNs three weeks ago, the peak popularity for the term hit a record-high on March 12, 2022.
