ISLAMABAD: Among Internet users in Pakistan, 18% use virtual private networks (VPNs) with men and respondents under 30 years of age among “heavier users,” a survey conducted by leading research firm Gallup Pakistan said recently. 

Pakistan’s government last year banned what it said were “illegal” VPNs, citing their use by militant groups for financial transactions and violent activities. The decision followed the government’s move to ban social media platform X in February 2024 after allegations of electoral manipulation and media reports of it installing a national firewall to monitor online content. 

Pakistani rights activists and members of civil society have criticized the government, accusing it of taking restrictive measures to stifle dissent and crack down on opposition parties and their supporters. The government denies these allegations and says it is ensuring people’s protection in cyberspace. 

Pakistanis have increasingly turned to VPNs, which hides users’ browsing activity, identity and location, allowing for greater privacy and autonomy. It also allows Internet users to access websites that are blocked by the government, such as X in Pakistan. 

“Among Internet users in Pakistan 18% use VPN, with men (23%) and respondents under 30 (24%) among heavier users,” Gallup Pakistan said in a report published on Feb. 14.

When asked, “Please tell me if you use VPN?” 18% responded with a ‘Yes’ while 80% said ‘No’ and 2% either did not know or did not respond, Gallup Pakistan said. The firm said it carried out the survey on a sample of 1,042 men and women across urban and rural areas of all four provinces of the country from Jan. 7-12, 2025. 

It said Internet users aged under 30 years were more likely to use VPN (24%) compared to those aged 30-50 (13%) and those aged over 50 (15%). 

Of the 100% male respondents surveyed, 23% said they used VPNs while 75% said they did not, and 2% did not know or did not respond. As far as women respondents were concerned, 10% said they used VPNs while 87% said they did not, and 3% said they did not know or did not respond. 

“Male Internet users were far more likely than women to use VPN,” the report said. “Twenty-three percent of men used VPN compared to 10% of women, a 13% difference.”

Pakistan’s interior ministry in November 2024 wrote a letter to the PTA, asking it to block illegal VPNs as they are also used by Internet users in the country to access pornographic websites and blasphemous content online. 

PTA had already disclosed that nearly 20 million Pakistanis try to access pornographic websites banned by the authorities in 2011 on a daily basis.