China’s popular internet censorship evasion app suddenly deleted

A browser called Tuber from China has gained popularity in China as an app that can avoid strict censorship by the Chinese government on the Internet. However, on October 10th, as Tuber became unavailable without any notice, the app download page was completely removed.

Tuber is an application that allows you to access websites such as Google, Instagram, and Facebook, which are banned from access in China, without using an illegal VPN. Of course, tools to avoid using a VPN in China and avoid government censorship still exist. However, the number of downloads soared as the Chinese media praised Tuber as an application indicating the openness of the Chinese Internet.

Tuber is an Android app. The service started at the end of September 2020, and is only available at AppGallery, an app store operated by Huawei, and has been downloaded more than 5 million times. While being able to access domestically regulated websites was the biggest attraction of Tuber, it was reported that access to some content was restricted. For example, if you search for the name of President Xi Jinping on YouTube through Tuber in Chinese or English, you can only see 7 videos uploaded by broadcaster accounts such as Shanghai and Macau.

Although it was so popular in China, it suddenly became unavailable on October 10th. The download page has been completely removed from the App Gallery. Rich Bishop, CEO of AppInChina, a Chinese app store, said that the Chinese government probably asked Huawei to remove it.

The Chinese government strictly manages the Internet with a great firewall that monitors Internet users from accessing information unfavorable to the government. Many companies are required to censor or delete content that is critical of government policy. The existence of Tuber escaping this censorship is considered to have been deleted because it is considered bad for the Chinese government.

In addition, it is pointed out that it is necessary to register a phone number when registering a Tuber account, and that it is possible to easily identify an individual Tuber user in that it is possible to connect a Chinese public identification number and phone number.

360 Security Technology, which used to operate Tuber, did not provide a detailed explanation on the deletion of Tuber and did not disclose the reason for the deletion and how user personal information is handled. Related information can be found here .