VPN apps lean on sexualised ads amid Telegram ban-driven surge

As demand for VPN services surged following Telegram's ban, several VPN providers turned to sexually suggestive advertisements on Meta platforms to attract Indian users.

In Short

• Users turned to bypass tools as access restrictions drove sudden demand
• Promotions highlighted hidden content and free browsing over privacy features
• Campaigns appeared in Hindi and English to reach wider audiences

The ban of Telegram in India in the run-up to the NEET re-examination was accompanied by a rush for VPN services to access the platform. As more and more people looked for VPN services, several VPN providers used an unusual marketing tactic to cash in on the rising demand.

A VPN (Virtual Private Network), allows users to route their internet traffic through servers located in other countries, often enabling access to websites or services that may otherwise be unavailable in a particular region.

India Today OSINT team found over a dozen VPN providers using sexually suggestive advertisements on Meta platforms in an apparent attempt to attract users and drive downloads.

This isn't the first time Indians have searched for ways around internet restrictions. Similar trends were seen when pornography websites were blocked in the country, prompting many users to look for tools that could help bypass those restrictions.

This advertising strategy appears to follow a common pattern. Rather than focusing on encryption, privacy or cybersecurity features, several VPN apps use sexually suggestive thumbnails alongside claims such as "download porn videos", "free browsing", "find hidden content" and "safe access". The ads were found running in both Hindi and English, suggesting they are designed to appeal to a wide Indian audience.

What's surprising is that these advertisements are not being circulated through obscure websites or underground forums. Instead, they are being openly promoted on Instagram and Facebook. An analysis of Meta's Ad Library found multiple VPN providers targeting Indian users with advertisements featuring sexual content.

Some of the identified apps, including Mango VPN, Nova VPN, and Yuva VPN, have crossed one million downloads on the Google Play Store. Combined, the 12 analysed VPN apps account for more than 5.4 million downloads, indicating that these services have already reached a sizable user base.

The findings raise a larger question: How trustworthy are these VPN services?

According to a TechRadar investigation, 77 per cent of Android VPN apps examined failed basic accountability and transparency checks. The report also found that 43 per cent of VPN providers on the Play Store did not even have a professional website.

The concern is significant because VPN services handle a user's internet traffic and often gain access to sensitive metadata. Cybersecurity researchers have repeatedly warned that untrustworthy VPN providers have historically been linked to aggressive data collection practices, opaque ownership structures and poor transparency standards.

As millions of users continue to download VPN apps in search of unrestricted internet access, the focus should not only be on what content these apps unlock, but also on who is operating them and what happens to user data once it passes through their networks.

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