Blocked Apps in the App Store
From the official app store for Apple devices, applications of banks and organizations that fell under sanctions began to disappear. However, is it scary? We explain how you can bypass the bans on downloading blocked apps in the App Store

The aggravation of geopolitical events affects various aspects of life. For example, due to sanctions, users of Apple devices felt difficulties – a number of applications were removed from the AppStore.

However, in today’s world it is difficult to completely block any applications or services. You can almost always find ways around the restrictions – we explain how to do this in the case of the App Store.

What apps are Apple removing from the App Store and why?

In February 2022, clients of VTB, Sovcombank, Novikombank, Otkritie Bank and Promsvyazbank faced difficulties due to US sanctions. For example, it is now problematic to work with their cards through the Apple Pay service. 

However, the difficulties of -speaking Apple users in Our Country did not end there. The American company began to remove applications from the App Store – the applications of the above banks have already disappeared from there. And foreign users were left without official applications of the news agencies RT and Sputnik – they can only be downloaded on the territory of the Federation.

In general, there are two possible reasons why applications disappear from the App Store.

In the first, more radical case, Apple developers completely remove applications due to some kind of violations on the part of developers or US government sanctions – this happens with the applications of some banks.

In the second case, access to applications is limited only for some users. Now the news agencies RT and Sputnik are faced with this.

It is noteworthy that applications already installed on Apple smartphones can work normally. From time to time, the list of restricted or removed applications in the App Store may increase. According to the latest data, about 7 applications have disappeared from the App Store since the beginning of the imposition of sanctions on the American company.1. Moreover, since the beginning of May, bank cards cannot be used in Apple services. Also disabled the ability to pay directly from a mobile phone number. 

In Our Country, Apple products simply ceased to be convenient, and this is a fact. But it was precisely for this that American technology was so valued.

How to bypass App Store restrictions in Our Country and install apps on iPhone, iPad, MacBook, iMac, Apple Watch

If the application was completely removed from the App Store and from the device, then installing it back will be problematic. This can only be done when gaining access to a closed file system (this procedure is called “Jailbreak”). At Apple, this is strongly opposed, although it is not illegal.

It would be more logical for a simple user to find an alternative to hacking the phone. For example, in the case of a bank, you can use the online version of the application on the official website of a financial institution.

If the application was blocked only for users from a certain country, then you can try changing the region of the owner of the Apple account. Information about the user’s region is specified when registering an Apple ID. Until Apple imposes serious sanctions, this may work.

How to change region in iPhone settings

  1. In the settings of the smartphone, select the item “iTunes Store and Apple ID”. 
  2. Next, click on your Apple ID and enter your password. 
  3. We go to the “Country and Region” tab and select the country that does not fall under the blocking. 
  4. You then need to accept the agreement and provide an existing address and zip code. You can skip the map linking moment if you don’t buy apps.

IMPORTANT

When you change the region, your entire library from Apple Music will disappear. This is due to copyright restrictions on music in different countries.

If a blocked app has already been installed on your device, it can be “restored” from the Purchased section of the App Store. There you need to select an application from the list and click on the “Download” button in the right corner.

Alternative Methods for Installing Apps on iOS

Despite the blocking of applications, you can still install them through the iAmazing application. The main thing is that before that you have installed them at least once on your iPhone. It is safest to find and download the program from the official website2.

  1. After installing the program and drivers, agree to the trial use of the program and connect the iPhone via a Lightning cable to the computer
  2. Select the “Manage Applications” menu 
  3. Then, in the “Media Library” item in the search, find the program you need. For example, “Sberbank online”
  4. Install it on your smartphone by clicking on the right mouse button. 
  5. When finished, you can disconnect your phone from the computer.

Iran’s experience in circumventing Apple restrictions

Our Country is not the first country to fall under Apple’s restrictions. So, in 2018, residents of Iran faced much more serious problems – the entire App Store was simply blocked in their country. At the same time, it was officially impossible to buy the products of an American company in an Islamic country.

However, Apple users have begun to bypass the restrictions with private virtual networks (VPNs). Even accounts in which Iran was listed as the main Apple ID region worked with this technology.

Chairman of Cmte. for Preemptive Measures Against #US Threats says they have banned sale & registration of #iPhone in their bill. But pictures from lawmakers show many of them actually use iphones! #Iran #apple pic.twitter.com/GxCWAAMpFd

— Fereshteh Sadeghi (@fresh_sadegh) July 3, 2019

According to data for 2020, almost 70% of the population in this republic have smartphones – this is about 57 million people3. Over time, the country has its own analogues of all major applications – Cloob instead of Facebook, Snapp instead of Uber, and even its own app store Cafe Bazaar (though only for Android smartphones). Iran’s practice shows that it is extremely difficult to remain in a digital blockade in the XNUMXst century.

Popular questions and answers

Healthy Food Near Me answered the main questions related to the possible blocking of applications in the AppStore Vladimir Shutov, head of iOS-direction 65apps.

Can I use apps that have already been removed from the AppStore?

If Apple completely or partially blocks access to applications, functionality or the AppStore, the restrictions will not be bypassed even by disabling auto-update, changing the region in the settings or VPN. Apple will be able to force update devices if necessary.

When the AppStore is blocked, the iPhone, of course, will perform the main function of the phone, but only those applications that have already been installed on the device at the time of blocking will be able to be used. Downloading and updating applications will not be available. Purely theoretically – this is possible.

Also, if the AppStore is blocked, developers of mobile applications for IOS will not be able to create new products and release updates for existing applications. But in general, a development scenario with blocking the functionality of the AppStore or IOS is unlikely.

Is it possible to put a third party app on iPhone?

Even if there are problems accessing the AppStore, there are many unofficial iOS app stores that are not approved by Apple itself. This is quite risky – the user may receive a couple of viruses along with the application, since such stores do not check the hosted products. Nevertheless, it is worth mentioning the existence of such an option for downloading the desired application, but only as a last resort.
  1. https://techcrunch.com/2022/03/15/Our Countrys-app-store-lost-nearly-7k-apps-since-its-invasion-of-ukraine-but-some-big-tech-apps-remain/
  2. https://imazing.com/download
  3. https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-countries-by-smartphone-penetration-and-users/

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