VPN usage soars in Mozambique as internet enters another week of restriction

People in Mozambique are increasingly resorting to VPN services to bypass ongoing online restrictions in the wake of deadly protests contesting the election results.

Authorities first disrupted mobile internet connections on October 25, as protests erupted across the country the day before. WhatsApp, Facebook, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram all went dark a few days after that, on October 31, making using a VPN necessary to keep using these platforms.

Proton VPN confirmed a 127,830% spike during the day to TechRadar. “Usage continues to rise quickly as internet access remains intermittent,” David Peterson, General Manager at Proton VPN, told me. Other data suggests a VPN demand increase of 2,072% so far.

These numbers aren’t anything but surprising considering that TikTok, Telegram, and YouTube also joined the list of blocked platforms on November 4 – internet watchdog NetBlocks reported. As the tweet below shows, curfew-style mobile internet blackouts are still ongoing as I write.

This is the first time that the East African country has restricted the internet since 2015, when Surfshark began tracking these incidents worldwide – the VPN provider told me. Yet, this is far from the first instance that a government resorted to a social media or internet blackout during political turmoil.

Only last week, another East African country, Mauritius enforced a social…