Apple Drops Russia’s Largest Social Media Network From App Store

The logo of Russian social media platform VK (formerly VKontakte) during the St Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) at the ExpoForum convention and exhibition centre in Saint Petersburg, Russia, on June 15, 2022. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images

Apple Inc. has removed VKontakte, a popular social networking application in Russia, according to a statement from VK, the company behind the platform.

What Happened

The statement, first noted on The Verge, said that some VK applications were blocked by Apple and unavailable to download and update on the App Store.

The statement said that VK applications already installed on smartphones continued to work.