Apple removes Russia’s largest social network from the App Store

The apps of the Russian technology conglomerate behind a social network with hundreds of millions of downloads have been removed from the App Store.

Some VK applications are blocked by Apple, but it will continue to develop and support iOS applications. The Russian Ministry of Digital Affairs told the state-controlled media outlet that it was looking into the reasons for the deletion of applications. On the Play Store, the apps are still there.

Several American social media sites have been blocked by the Russian government. The US and other governments have imposed sanctions on many Russians. After refusing to cooperate with the authorities, Pavel Durov was pushed out of the company. They don't like me. He focused on his app.

Russian iPhone users no longer have access to the app for the fifth most popular site in the country, as well as other apps from VK, as a result of Apple removing the apps. There could be issues with notifications and payments, the company told Interfax.

Alexander Chachava, a Russian businessman who is based in the Cayman Islands, came up with $652 million to purchase the assets of My.Games from VK. It will continue to be run by executives who were already in place, and they were the ones who promoted it as a Russian alternative to the other game stores.

The apps being removed from the store didn't get a response from Apple. Earlier this year, it stopped selling its products in the country and made certain Russian news apps unavailable from everywhere but Russia, just weeks after sanctions prevented customers of Russian banks from using Google Pay and Apple Pay.

There used to be a prominent place on the phone for VK's apps. A law went into effect last year that required technology companies to pre- install Russian-made apps on devices. To comply, Apple added a screen to the setup process that showed users a list of apps from Russian companies. Among the apps included on the list were the social network, email client, and digital assistant.

Update September 27th, 9:07PM: Added context about the apps being included in the setup process.