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Blocked 27
Every network we test in Iran fails to open these, twice, while they open elsewhere. Most often, the name points to a private address.
- Amnesty InternationalRights & petitions
Since 11 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- BBCNews
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- DiscordMessaging & calls
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- DWNews
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- ExpressVPNVPNs & privacy tools
First observed on 1 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- FacebookSocial media
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- Human Rights WatchRights & petitions
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- InstagramSocial media
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- LINEMessaging & calls
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- MessengerMessaging & calls
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- MullvadVPNs & privacy tools
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- NetflixVideo & music
Since 7 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- NordVPNVPNs & privacy tools
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- Proton VPNVPNs & privacy tools
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- Radio Free EuropeNews
First observed on 1 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- RedditSocial media
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- SignalMessaging & calls
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- SnapchatSocial media
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Tose'h Fanavari Ertebabat… and ArvanCloud.
- SoundCloudVideo & music
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Tose'h Fanavari Ertebabat… and ArvanCloud.
- SurfsharkVPNs & privacy tools
Since 7 Oct 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- TelegramMessaging & calls
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection never completes on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- TikTokSocial media
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- Tor ProjectVPNs & privacy tools
Since 14 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
- TumblrSocial media
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The name points to a private address on Tose'h Fanavari Ertebabat… and ArvanCloud.
- TwitchVideo & music
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- VimeoVideo & music
First observed on 29 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
- YouTubeVideo & music
Since 14 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and ArvanCloud.
Blocked on some networks 5
One provider blocks these and the other lets them through, which is common where each provider carries out blocks itself.
- GrindrSocial media
Since 12 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on ArvanCloud, Parsian High Tech, Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat and Tose'h Fanavari Ertebabat….
- PsiphonVPNs & privacy tools
Since 11 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on Pishgaman Toseeh Ertebatat.
- ViberMessaging & calls
Since 7 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on ArvanCloud.
- WhatsAppMessaging & calls
Since 3 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on ArvanCloud, Hostiran Network, Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and Sindad Network Technology.
- X (Twitter)Social media
Since 3 Oct 2026
The name points to a private address on ArvanCloud, Parsian High Tech, Hostiran Network and Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering.
Turned away by the site 1
These sites answer visitors from Iran with “forbidden” (HTTP 403) themselves. That’s the site’s choice, not a block by Iran.
- GeminiAI chatbots
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The site answers “forbidden” (HTTP 403) on Sefroyek Pardaz Engineering and ArvanCloud.
Unstable 1
Some networks timed out twice while others opened these. That can be a quiet slowdown or just a poor connection; we don’t count it as a block.
- ThreadsSocial media
Since 7 Oct 2026
The secure connection stalls on Parsian High Tech.
Opens 33
Background
Internet censorship in Iran
Iran’s blocklist is set by the Committee to Determine Instances of Criminal Content, headed by the prosecutor general, and the penal code obliges every provider to filter what it bans; the judiciary and the Supreme National Security Council have also ordered blocks, including the 2018 ban on Telegram. The Supreme Council of Cyberspace sets internet policy, shutdowns are treated as national security decisions, and one state company, the Telecommunication Infrastructure Company, holds a monopoly on traffic in and out of the country.
Filtering is centralised, so a site can be blocked on every network within hours. Providers answer lookups for many banned sites with a private address that leads to Iran’s block page, and when WhatsApp and Instagram were blocked in 2022 their connections were also cut at the IP and encryption level. International traffic costs more than domestic traffic and is throttled at sensitive times, pushing people onto the National Information Network, a slow state intranet of approved local apps that kept running during the 2026 blackouts.
Iran has blocked Facebook, X, YouTube, TikTok, Telegram and Signal, along with nearly all international news sites and sites about LGBT+ rights and religious minorities. Instagram and WhatsApp, the only big foreign platforms still open, were blocked in September 2022 during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests over a young woman’s death in custody. The Supreme Council of Cyberspace lifted the bans on WhatsApp and Google Play in December 2024, but Instagram stayed blocked, and many people reach it through VPNs.
Iran’s shutdowns grew longer in 2025 and 2026: it cut the internet almost entirely during the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025, again from 8 January 2026 as protests spread, and from 28 February 2026, when war with the US and Israel began. International access began returning on 26 May, after 88 days, but in August traffic was still far below its level before January, and a ‘class-based’ system gives approved users, through ‘Internet Pro’ packages and ‘white SIM cards’, wider access than everyone else.
Are VPNs legal in Iran?
Iran bans unlicensed VPNs: the Supreme Council of Cyberspace prohibited using them in February 2024, after selling them had been made a crime in 2023, and the telecoms ministry has warned that selling or using illegal VPNs can bring fines or prison. Even so, many Iranians rely on VPNs to reach blocked platforms, and they have become more expensive since the 2026 war began.
Key dates
- International internet access begins to return on the president’s orders, after 88 days of near-total shutdown.
- A near-total blackout of the global internet begins as war with the US and Israel starts.
- Iran cuts internet access nationwide during mass protests, in an outage that lasts about 20 days.
- A near-total nationwide shutdown begins hours after Israel’s first air strikes and is lifted when the 12-day war ends.
- The Supreme Council of Cyberspace lifts the bans on WhatsApp and Google Play imposed in 2022.
- Instagram and WhatsApp are blocked during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, along with app stores and many VPNs.
Get past a block
Blocked in Iran?
A VPN connects you through a server in another country, so the blocks in Iran no longer apply. Where VPNs themselves are blocked, you need one that can disguise its traffic.
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History
Changes in Iran
Tor Project is now blocked on every network we test in Iran
Tor Project is now blocked on only some networks in Iran
Psiphon is now blocked on only some networks in Iran
Amnesty International is now blocked on every network we test in Iran
Amnesty International is now blocked on only some networks in Iran
X (Twitter) is now blocked on only some networks in Iran
Method
How we test
- Test machines inside Iran, most of them in data centers, open each site’s homepage every day.
- A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
- A change is published only after a re-check a few hours later, on several machines per provider, confirms it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
- Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
- We test websites over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
Questions
Censorship in Iran: questions
Is WhatsApp Blocked in Iran?
Not officially any more. Iran blocked WhatsApp in September 2022, during the Woman, Life, Freedom protests, and the Supreme Council of Cyberspace lifted the ban, along with Google Play’s, in December 2024. In the 2026 shutdowns it went down with the rest of the global internet, though the costly ‘Internet Pro’ packages sold to approved users included it.
Is Instagram Blocked in Iran?
Yes. Iran blocked Instagram in September 2022, during the protests over a young woman’s death in custody; until then it and WhatsApp were the only big foreign platforms still open there. Instagram wasn’t included when WhatsApp was unblocked in December 2024, and Iranians who use it reach it through VPNs.
How Long Did Iran’s 2026 Internet Shutdown Last?
There were two. The first began on 8 January 2026, during nationwide protests, and lasted about 20 days. The second, a near-total blackout of international access, began on 28 February, when war with the US and Israel started, and lasted 88 days, until access began to return on 26 May. Traffic was still far below normal in August.