The Great Firewall: A Full List of Blocked Apps & Websites in China (2025)

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If you’re heading to China, one of the biggest culture shocks won’t be the food or the language—it will be the internet. China’s sophisticated censorship system, known as the Great Firewall (GFW), blocks a massive number of foreign websites and apps.

Knowing what’s blocked is essential for planning your trip and understanding why a VPN is not just a recommendation, it’s a necessity.

Here is a comprehensive, updated list of major platforms and services that are currently blocked in China.

1. Social Media Virtually all major global social media platforms are inaccessible.

  • Facebook
  • X (formerly Twitter)
  • [warning_box]重要提醒：你必须在出发去中国之前完成这些设置！[/warning_box]
  • Instagram
  • Snapchat
  • Pinterest
  • Reddit
  • Quora
  • Tumblr

2. Messaging Apps Staying in touch with people back home can be difficult with these apps blocked.

  • WhatsApp
  • Telegram
  • Signal
  • Facebook Messenger
  • Line
  • Discord

3. Search Engines Accessing information is a challenge without the world’s most popular search engine.

  • Google Search (and all other Google services: Images, Scholar, etc.)
  • DuckDuckGo
  • Yahoo
  • (Note: Microsoft’s Bing is generally accessible but provides censored results.)

4. News Media A vast number of international news organizations are blocked.

  • The New York Times
  • BBC
  • The Guardian
  • Reuters
  • The Wall Street Journal
  • Bloomberg
  • Wikipedia (in all languages)

5. Video, Music & Streaming

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  • YouTube
  • Netflix (the site may load, but it will block you from streaming due to geo-restrictions)
  • Vimeo
  • Twitch
  • Spotify (often unstable or blocked)
  • SoundCloud

6. Work & Productivity Tools This is a huge problem for business travelers and digital nomads.

  • The entire Google Workspace:
    • Gmail
    • Google Drive
    • Google Docs, Sheets, & Slides
    • Google Calendar
    • Google Meet
  • Dropbox
  • Slack
  • Trello
  • Microsoft OneDrive (often unstable)

7. App Stores

  • Google Play Store: Completely blocked. Android users cannot download or update apps unless they use a local Chinese app store, which doesn’t contain these international apps.
  • Apple App Store: The store works, but the Chinese version has had thousands of apps removed at the request of the government, including all major VPN apps.

The Solution is Simple

Seeing this long list can be intimidating, but bypassing these blocks is surprisingly easy with the right tool. The only reliable method for accessing all of these blocked services is by using a high-quality VPN.

A VPN encrypts your internet traffic and routes it through a server in another country. This makes you “invisible” to the Great Firewall, allowing you to browse the internet as if you were back home—freely and securely.

Don’t get cut off from the digital world. Preparation is key. A few minutes spent setting up a VPN before your trip will save you from a massive headache.

➡️ Find the Perfect VPN for Your Trip to China Now

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