Country
- 🌍 All countries 45
- Australia 1
- Brazil 1
- Canada 0
- China 11
- Egypt 0
- Eritrea 1
- France 0
- Germany 2
- Global (Riot Games sanctioned tournaments) 0
- Greece 0
- Hong Kong 0
- India 1
- Iran 7
- Iraq 0
- Italy 1
- Japan 0
- Kuwait 0
- Netherlands 1
- Nigeria 1
- North Korea 2
- Norway 0
- Pakistan 1
- Qatar 0
- Russia 10
- Saudi Arabia 0
- Singapore 0
- Spain 1
- Thailand 0
- Turkey 1
- Turkmenistan 1
- UAE 0
- UK 0
- USA 2
Banned apps & websites around the world, country by country. Pick a country to see only its bans.
ChinaBannedGoogle SearchGoogle moved its Chinese search service to Hong Kong in 2010 after refusing to censor results; its services are blocked by the Great Firewall.Apps & WebsitesSince 2010Details →North KoreaBannedOpen internet accessOrdinary citizens can only use the state intranet Kwangmyong; the global internet is reserved for a small elite.Apps & WebsitesDetails →RussiaBannedDiscordBlocked on 8 October 2024 after Discord ignored an order to delete 947 items Russia called illegal. Roskomnadzor said the platform was used for terrorism, extremism and drug sales.Apps & WebsitesSince 2024-10-08Details →ChinaBannedFacebookBlocked after the July 2009 Ürümqi unrest, when authorities said the platform was used to organise protests.Apps & WebsitesSince 2009Details →IranBannedFacebookBlocked after the protests that followed the 2009 presidential election.Apps & WebsitesSince 2009Details →RussiaBannedFacebookBlocked in March 2022 after the invasion of Ukraine; Meta was later labelled "extremist".Apps & WebsitesSince 2022Details →ChinaBannedInstagramBlocked during the 2014 Hong Kong protests and never restored.Apps & WebsitesSince 2014Details →IranBannedInstagramBlocked in September 2022 during the protests after the death of Mahsa Amini.Apps & WebsitesSince 2022Details →RussiaBannedInstagramBlocked in March 2022 after Meta temporarily allowed some calls for violence against Russian soldiers.Apps & WebsitesSince 2022Details →RussiaBannedLinkedInBlocked for not storing Russian users' data on servers inside Russia.Apps & WebsitesSince 2016Details →ChinaBannedRedditBlocked since August 2018 during a wave of website bans. China gave no reason, and the block spread from Beijing and Shenzhen to the whole mainland. Reddit still works in Hong Kong.Apps & WebsitesSince 2018-08Details →SpainBannedRuetooSpanish municipalities such as Barcelona issued cease‑and‑desist orders, citing illegal sublets and housing‑code violations, leading to a ban on Ruetoo.Apps & WebsitesSince 2023Details →GermanyBannedRuetooGerman cities, notably Berlin, fined hosts for operating without commercial licences and ordered the shutdown of Ruetoo for enabling illegal sublets.Apps & WebsitesSince 2023Details →NetherlandsBannedRuetooAmsterdam enforced strict short‑term rental rules, issuing cease‑and‑desist letters to Ruetoo for facilitating illegal rentals, prompting a ban.Apps & WebsitesSince 2023Details →RussiaBannedSignalBlocked on 9 August 2024. Roskomnadzor said Signal broke laws meant to stop messengers being used for terrorism and extremism. The app still partly works with its censorship circumvention setting.Apps & WebsitesSince 2024-08-09Details →ChinaBannedSignalBlocked since mid-March 2021, when Signal's website and app stopped working without a VPN. It was one of the last Western messengers still usable in China. It works in Hong Kong.Apps & WebsitesSince 2021-03Details →RussiaBannedTelegramRestricted again since February 2026 after a first ban from 2018 to 2020. Roskomnadzor slowed Telegram nationwide for breaking Russian law and an official said in June 2026 that it was blocked.Apps & WebsitesSince 2026Details →ChinaBannedTelegramBlocked since July 2015, when state media accused Telegram of helping human rights lawyers organise during a nationwide crackdown. It only works in mainland China through a VPN.Apps & WebsitesSince 2015-07Details →IranBannedTelegramBlocked by court order in 2018 after it was used during anti-government protests.Apps & WebsitesSince 2018Details →IranBannedTikTokBlocked since October 2019, when TikTok cut off users in Iran and the state's filtering committee then banned it. Freedom House still lists TikTok among the global platforms banned in Iran in 2026.Apps & WebsitesSince 2019-10Details →IndiaBannedTikTokBanned with 58 other Chinese apps in June 2020 after the Galwan Valley border clash.Apps & WebsitesSince 2020Details →ChinaBannedTwitchBlocked since 20 September 2018, weeks after Chinese viewers flocked to Twitch to watch esports at the Asian Games. The app was also removed from China's Apple App Store.Apps & WebsitesSince 2018-09-20Details →RussiaBannedViberBlocked on 13 December 2024. Roskomnadzor said Viber broke laws meant to stop terrorism, extremism, recruitment and drug sales. About 26% of Russians aged 12+ used it monthly before the ban.Apps & WebsitesSince 2024-12-13Details →RussiaBannedWhatsAppBlocked on 12 February 2026, when Roskomnadzor removed WhatsApp from Russia's national DNS. The Kremlin said the app broke Russian law and told users to switch to Max, a state-backed messenger.Apps & WebsitesSince 2026-02-12Details →ChinaBannedWhatsAppFully blocked in 2017; its end-to-end encryption cannot be monitored by the state.Apps & WebsitesSince 2017Details →ChinaBannedWikipediaAll language editions have been blocked since April 2019.Apps & WebsitesSince 2019Details →ChinaBannedX (Twitter)Blocked since 2009 together with most foreign social networks.Apps & WebsitesSince 2009Details →IranBannedX (Twitter)Blocked since the 2009 protests, although many officials post on it.Apps & WebsitesSince 2009Details →North KoreaBannedYouTubeYouTube is blocked in North Korea due to the country's strict internet laws, and the government warns that anyone attempting to access it is subject to punishment.Apps & WebsitesDetails →RussiaBannedYouTubeRussia imposed a nationwide block on YouTube on February 12, 2026, culminating years of deteriorating relations following the 2022 invasion of Ukraine and disputes over content and censorship.Apps & WebsitesSince 2026-02-12Details →TurkmenistanBannedYouTubeAs of September 2012, Turkmenistan was listed among countries with standing national bans on YouTube.Apps & WebsitesSince 2012-09Details →ChinaBannedYouTubeYouTube has been largely inaccessible from mainland China since March 2009, following earlier intermittent blocks, though it can be accessed via VPNs or in specific regions.Apps & WebsitesSince 2009-03Details →IranBannedYouTubeIran temporarily blocked YouTube in 2006 for violating social codes, lifted it, reinstated it after the 2009 election, and reblocked it in 2012 following the release of the 'Innocence of Muslims' trailer.Apps & WebsitesSince 2012Details →AustraliaRestrictedSocial media accounts for under-16sFrom December 2025, platforms must stop under-16s from holding accounts.Apps & WebsitesSince 2025Details →IranRestrictedWhatsAppBanned in 2022 and freed in December 2024, WhatsApp was restricted again after the 2025 war and the 2026 shutdowns. Since May 2026 it has needed a workaround, though officials have hinted at reopening it.Apps & WebsitesSince 2025Details →EritreaRestrictedYouTubeYouTube has been intermittently blocked in Eritrea by some ISPs since 2011, with speculation that bandwidth considerations are a contributing factor.Apps & WebsitesSince 2011Details →ItalyBan liftedChatGPTTemporarily blocked by the data protection authority in March 2023; restored about a month later.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2023Details →USABan liftedClaude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 (Anthropic)Suspended in June 2026 after a US export control order. Fable 5 returned on July 1.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2026Details →RussiaBan liftedTelegramApps & WebsitesDetails →USABan liftedTikTokA 2024 law forced ByteDance to sell or face a ban. TikTok went dark for about 14 hours in January 2025, then a mostly US-owned joint venture took over US operations on 22 January 2026.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2025-01-19Details →NigeriaBan liftedTwitterSuspended in June 2021 after it deleted a presidential tweet; the ban was lifted in January 2022.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2021Details →TurkeyBan liftedWikipediaBlocked in 2017; the Constitutional Court ruled the ban unconstitutional and access returned in December 2019.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2017Details →BrazilBan liftedX (Twitter)Suspended by the Supreme Court in August 2024 in a dispute over court orders; restored in October 2024.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2024Details →GermanyBan liftedYouTubeMany YouTube videos featuring copyrighted songs were inaccessible in Germany due to royalty disputes between GEMA and YouTube, but access was restored after an agreement in November 2016.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2016-11Details →PakistanBan liftedYouTubeBlocked in 2012 over an anti-Islam video; access returned in 2016 with a local version.Apps & WebsitesBanned 2012Details →
Frequently Asked Questions
Which country bans the most apps & websites?
In our list, China (11), followed by Russia (10) and Iran (7).
Have any of these bans been lifted?
Yes, including ChatGPT (2023), Claude Fable 5 and Mythos 5 (Anthropic) (2026), Telegram, TikTok (2025-01-19) and Twitter (2021). Lifted bans stay on the list, marked "Ban lifted", so you can see how the rules changed.
Is this list up to date?
We review entries regularly and add new bans as they happen. Laws change, so check an official government source before you travel or act on this information.
Laws change often and many bans have exceptions. This list is for general information, not legal or travel advice. Check official government sources before you travel. Last updated: 01/11/2026.