Saudi Arabia filters the internet at a central point, blocking pornography, gambling, LGBT+ content, critical news sites, rights groups and the websites of major VPNs, and allows internet calls only on approved apps.
Every day we open 67 of the world’s biggest sites and apps from test machines in Saudi Arabia, most of them in data centers, and record what’s blocked, since when and how.
5 of 67 testedsites and apps with a confirmed block in Saudi Arabia
67 of 67 results confirmed in the last 48 hours.
Tests are requested on test machines inside Saudi Arabia, most of them in data centers. 4 of them on only some networks.
The networks we test in Saudi Arabia fail to open these, twice, while they open elsewhere. Data-center machines that get past the filter don’t count against a block the rest see. Most often, the connection is cut.
ExpressVPNVPNs & privacy tools
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Huawei Cloud.
Blocked on some networks 4
Some of the networks we test block these while others let them through, which is common where each provider carries out blocks itself.
MullvadVPNs & privacy tools
First observed on 30 Sep 2026
The connection is cut on Oracle Cloud and Wafai Net.
Filtering is run by the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST, formerly the CITC). It gives data-service providers filtering lists to apply at the internet gateways and doesn’t publish them, and providers that fail to block a banned site face fines of up to 25 million riyals. Anyone can ask for a site to be blocked through an online form, and a CST team decides. The media ministry also blocks sites over licensing and copyright breaches. All our test machines in Saudi Arabia sit in data centers, which often get past the filter, so a site can open in our results that Saudi homes can’t reach.
All traffic passes through two country-level data-service providers, so blocking happens at a central point; a 2020 study found it mostly based on web addresses, with TLS-level filtering for encrypted sites. A blocked site may show “Access to the requested URL is not allowed!” on a green page for a CST block or a blue one for the media ministry’s, or simply fail to load. Researchers have found Saudi providers using WireFilter, a filtering system made by the Riyadh company Sewar Technologies.
Besides pornography, gambling, drugs, extremist content and piracy, the blocklist covers news sites critical of the government, such as Middle East Eye and The New Arab, which has been blocked since January 2016; the sites of rights groups such as Avaaz; and outlets run by Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthis. In a 2021 study of six countries by OONI, OutRight Action International and Citizen Lab, Saudi Arabia blocked LGBTIQ websites the most consistently.
Internet calls opened up in September 2017 for apps that met the regulator’s rules, such as FaceTime, Skype and Telegram, but WhatsApp and Viber were left out, and in June 2024 Freedom House found most calling services other than WhatsApp working. In September 2025, in coordination with the General Authority for Media Regulation, Roblox switched off in-game chat in Saudi Arabia, and in June 2026 it said chat would stay off in most of the Middle East.
Are VPNs legal in Saudi Arabia?
Freedom House says Saudis regularly use VPNs to reach blocked sites, including foreign news outlets, but the government blocks the websites of Tor and major VPN providers. Encrypted communications are officially banned, a rule Freedom House says isn’t effectively enforced.
Key dates
Roblox switches off in-game chat in Saudi Arabia in coordination with the media regulator, with no date set for bringing it back.
WhatsApp voice and video calls suddenly work for many users, with no official word on whether the change is permanent.
Turkish news sites such as the state-run Anadolu Agency are unblocked as Saudi Arabia and Turkey restore relations.
The regulator lifts its ban on internet calls for apps that meet its rules, including FaceTime, Skype and Telegram, but leaves out WhatsApp and Viber.
The culture and media ministry blocks the Qatari-owned news sites The New Arab and Al-Araby Al-Jadeed; the UAE and Egypt follow.
The telecoms regulator bans the calling app Viber over unspecified breaches of the kingdom’s regulations.
Get past a block
Blocked in Saudi Arabia?
A VPN connects you through a server in another country, so the blocks in Saudi Arabia no longer apply. Where VPNs themselves are blocked, you need one that can disguise its traffic.
NordVPN
Our top pick
Obfuscated servers for networks that block VPNs
Connects you through a server in another country
Encrypts what your internet provider could otherwise see
We earn a commission if you buy through these links. It never changes what the monitor shows. Our disclosure.
History
Changes in Saudi Arabia
No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.
Method
How we test
Test machines inside Saudi Arabia, 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 re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm 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, mostly over home broadband. Apps, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.
Officially, yes. FaceTime was one of the apps the regulator named in September 2017, when it allowed internet calls on apps that meet its rules, along with Skype, Snapchat, Line and Telegram. Freedom House found most calling services other than WhatsApp available in June 2024.
What Does “Access to the Requested URL Is Not Allowed” Mean in Saudi Arabia?
It’s the block page Saudi internet providers show for a banned site. A green page marks a block by the CST, the telecoms regulator, and a blue one a block by the media ministry over licensing or copyright. Some blocked sites simply fail to load instead.
Why Did Saudi Arabia Ban Viber?
The telecoms regulator banned Viber in June 2013, citing unspecified breaches of the kingdom’s regulations. When it opened internet calling in September 2017 to apps that met its requirements, such as removing content that breaks Saudi rules and cooperating in emergencies, Viber was left off the list, along with WhatsApp.
