Report says demand for VPN more than triple in Pakistan

The demand for the virtual private networks (VPN) has more than tripled in Pakistan following a further tightening of social media restrictions.

An independent VPN review website, Top10VPN has oted that network service demand in the country has surged by 102 per cent on November 25, compared to the daily average of the preceding 28 days.

The demand for VPN has jumped  further on November 26, reaching 213 per cent above the baseline.

The development came amid reports that authorities had restricted WhatsApp media sharing ahead of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf’s protest demonstrations.

TikTok, WhatsApp, Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms are facing disruptions in Pakistan, showed Downdetector.com, a website that reports when there’s a disruption on social platforms or websites.

Users of social media have voiced frustration over the disruptions as there’s no official version yet as to why the access is restricted. These platforms work better when they are accessed after activating VPNs.

The federal government has confirmed they planned to disrupt internet services in areas with security concerns, but there was no comment about social media platforms.