Straight answers about the apps travelers ask about most, including the parts a VPN can't fix. Everything here has one theme: set it up before you fly.
All 50+ guides condensed into the ninety minutes of setup that make the whole trip run smoothly. Print it or save it offline.
Read the answer → The complete listAll 55 apps and sites in one honest table: blocked, works, or in between, each linked to its full guide.
Read the answer → Including where we loseTrips vs residency, shared IPs vs private servers, and which big-name VPNs actually connect from inside China.
Read the answer → Yes, with prepNo nomad visa, 30 to 90 days on tourist entry, a firewall between you and Slack. Visas, SIMs, banking, and a VPN that lasts the month.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2017No. Messages sit on the clock icon forever, even on hotel wifi. What works instead, and the eSIM loophole with its wifi gap.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2014The feed just spins with no error, and you can't reinstall the app from inside. How travelers and creators post anyway.
Read the answer → A VPN won't fix this oneBlocked, and broken even through a VPN: China's map data is offset 50 to 500 meters. The honest answer is Apple Maps.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2014The real trap is operational: 2FA codes, bookings, and boarding passes locked in an inbox you can't open. Prepare before you fly.
Read the answer → You probably want bothThe roaming loophole beats the firewall on cellular, then quits the moment you join hotel wifi. How the two tools split the job.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2009No. Videos spin forever and every embedded video on the web goes grey. Premium downloads still play, and the eSIM loophole has a data problem.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2014No, and it takes reCAPTCHA, fonts, and Translate down with it. Bing and Apple's stack work; here's what to switch before you fly.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2009No, and Messenger goes with it. The sneaky part is every app that uses "Log in with Facebook" breaking too.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2009No. The timeline never refreshes and t.co links die. How journalists and creators keep posting from inside.
Read the answer → Blocked both waysNo: the firewall blocks it and OpenAI doesn't serve China. Claude and Gemini too. What locals use instead, and the VPN fix.
Read the answer → Blocked · Douyin isn't itNo. The mainland has Douyin, a separate app where your account doesn't exist. Through a VPN set up before you fly, TikTok works fine.
Read the answer → Not the firewall's faultNo, because Netflix never launched there. Downloads play, and why shared VPNs get the "you seem to be using a proxy" error.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2014No, and your itinerary, tickets, and Photos backup are in there. What to export to the Files app before you fly.
Read the answer → UnreliableSort of, on a good day. Treat it as broken: download before you fly, or use Apple Music, which works in China.
Read the answer → Mostly worksYes, mostly. One of the few Western services that works without a VPN. The fine print, and what to do about Google Meet.
Read the answer → Throttled to uselessnessOfficially yes, practically no. Messages hang and huddles drop. What business travelers set up before the trip.
Read the answer → A VPN won't fix this oneNo: Uber sold its China business to Didi in 2016. How to set up Didi in English with a foreign card before you land.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2018No. Servers never load and voice channels pass no audio. What still connects, and getting voice quality through a VPN.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2018No, and with Google blocked too, the "search it, click the Reddit thread" habit breaks at both ends. Screenshot before you fly.
Read the answer → BlockedNo. Snaps hang on sending and streaks die on day one. How to keep them alive with an eSIM or VPN.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2015No. Why public MTProto proxies are a fallback, not a plan, and the VPN setup that covers everything else too.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2021No, not since March 2021. Signal's built-in proxy is unreliable; iMessage is the encrypted fallback that works.
Read the answer → Works, no VPN neededYes, and FaceTime too — Apple operates in China. The green-bubble trap, and why a normal VPN can slow down the thing that works.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2019No, every language edition. The offline copy that fixes it (Kiwix), and why your audio-guide app shows blank descriptions.
Read the answer → BlockedNo installs, no updates, and Android push notifications break too. The page every Android traveler should read before flying.
Read the answer → Works, no VPN neededYes — Microsoft operates in China, which makes Outlook the travel inbox while Gmail is dark. Forward before you fly.
Read the answer → Not blocked, throttledMostly loads, at dial-up speed, and raw downloads fail. Why it survives the firewall, and the split-tunnel fix for developers.
Read the answer → Split verdictShopping mostly works; Prime Video streams nothing. Downloads, Kindle, and the proxy-error problem shared VPNs hit.
Read the answer → Never launched thereNo, so fill the iPad before the flight. Downloads play all trip, and a private IP beats the proxy error.
Read the answer → Half-works by designPlaying usually works; the store and Workshop don't. Why you want Discord in the tunnel and gameplay out of it.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2014No, and the shared links you already sent are dead for recipients too. What to make offline before you fly.
Read the answer → Gone since 2023Not anymore — the last Western network standing wound down. WeChat is the business card now.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2018No. Streams buffer forever at 0:00. Watching and streaming through the tunnel, and the local platforms that replaced it.
Read the answer → Blocked since 2017No, and the trip you planned on Pinterest is locked inside. Screenshot the boards, or bring a VPN.
Read the answer → BlockedNo, and Bumble and Hinge too. The Facebook-login lockout, the GPS surprise, and what actually works.
Read the answer → Both blockedNo. For travelers from Japan, Korea, Thailand, and Taiwan, the family chat goes dark on landing. The fixes that work.
Read the answer → Mostly blockedNYT, BBC, Bloomberg, WSJ, Reuters: blocked. The newsletter trick that gets the news through anyway.
Read the answer → The question everyone asksA genuine grey area, honestly explained: what the rules say, who enforcement actually targets, and what tourists experience.
Read the answer → The 15-minute fixLink your home card, verify with your passport, test before you fly. The one setup task that makes China frictionless.
Read the answer → Yes, and you'll need itRegister with your home number, link a foreign card, clear the friend-verification hurdle at home, not in arrivals.
Read the answer → UnionPay only, mostlyTechnically yes, practically no with a foreign card. Why the till wants a QR code, and what to set up instead.
Read the answer → Work, with trapsChase and BofA aren't blocked. SMS codes that never arrive and fraud-flagged Chinese IPs are the real lockouts.
Read the answer → PayPal yes, Venmo noPayPal is licensed in China and mostly works. Venmo quits at the US border. The 2FA trap for both.
Read the answer → The apps aren't the problemAirbnb has no China listings since 2022, and many hotels can't take foreigners. How booking actually works: Trip.com.
Read the answer → Works, no VPN neededYes: Photos, Drive, Mail, and Find My all sync. The trip's safety net, if a clumsy VPN doesn't slow it down.
Read the answer → Mostly worksYes, via Microsoft's local partner. When it fails, it's usually your company's tenant policy, not the firewall.
Read the answer → Unreliable, thin offlineNot formally blocked, just slowly strangled, and its offline mode won't save you. Export before you fly.
Read the answer → Blocked since launchNever had a working day there: it inherited Meta's ban. One tunnel fixes it and Instagram together.
Read the answer → No local version leftUnreachable, and the licensed Chinese version shut in 2021. The family plan for the rainy day in Xi'an.
Read the answer → US-only by designThey quit at the US border, China or not. Downloads, and the private-US-IP fix that passes as a living room.
Read the answer → Banned and blockedChina banned exchanges and Coinbase doesn't serve the mainland. The holder's pre-flight checklist, stated plainly.
Read the answer → Blocked for yearsNo. For travelers from Eastern Europe and the Middle East, the family chat goes dark. The fixes that work.
Read the answer → Banned outrightNo adult site does; the ban is categorical. The legal picture stated honestly, and why shared VPN exits are the wrong tool.
Read the answer → Blocked · creators bewareSubscribers just wait it out. Creators have income on the line: the posting, payout, and 2FA checklist before you fly.
Read the answer → Visa-free transitThe firewall starts at the jet bridge. Airport wifi, Didi from the terminal, paying for lunch, and the 20-minute prep.
Read the answer → TroubleshootingYou're on a list, not doing anything wrong. What to try tonight, what won't help, and the structural fix.
Read the answer → TroubleshootingShared IP ranges get blocklisted; that's the whole story. Obfuscated servers, protocol switches, and next time.
Read the answer → TroubleshootingNoBorders and Camouflage help with fingerprinting, not with blocklisted IPs. What to try, and the fix for next trip.
Read the answer → Yes · city guideTwo airports, the SMS gate, SIM stores, Hong Kong or Tokyo as the fast exit, and where remote workers base themselves.
Read the answer → Yes · city guideThe capital tightens filtering in March, June, and October. Pick a server that survives it, plus airports, SIMs, and districts.
Read the answer → Yes · city guideHong Kong is 15 minutes away: the roaming SIM trick, the border crossings, and the one mainland city with a reset button.
Read the answer → Yes · city guideWhatsApp runs the trade here and fails on arrival. Canton Fair timing, SIM stores, and Hong Kong as the fast exit.
Read the answer → Yes · city guideThe nomad favorite, 1,500 km inland. Why region choice matters more here, plus airports, cafes, and neighborhoods.
Read the answer → Yes · city guideAlipay's hometown, 45 minutes from Shanghai. The most cashless city in China, and exactly as blocked as any other.
Read the answer →No guide for that one yet. The general rule: Western social, Google, and messaging are blocked; Apple and Microsoft services work. Start with the checklist or ask us.
The UAE's signature split: messages flow, calls die. Botim, the Zoom loophole, and what travelers actually do.
Read the answer → Don't count on itBlocked for years, occasionally easing, never dependable, and UAE-bought iPhones may lack the app entirely.
Read the answer → Legal to use, illegal to misuseSharper law, milder blocking: the honest read on the UAE's misuse clause, letter versus enforcement record.
Read the answer → No, and not a grey areaBlocked, and accessing it there is an offense in its own right. The one page where our honest advice is: don't.
Read the answer →Japan blocks nothing. Your bank, Hulu, and Netflix are what misbehave from a Japanese IP, while Suica needs one. The split-tunnel answer.
Read the answer → Hulu Japan isn't HuluUS Hulu, Peacock, and Max refuse from Japan, and Hulu Japan is a different company. Downloads and the private-US-IP fix.
Read the answer → Until fraud detection noticesThey load fine. Your bank's fraud model is the problem. One clean home IP fixes it without breaking Suica.
Read the answer → Works, library changesYes, with Japan's catalog: an anime bonus, a mid-season problem. Downloads, and keeping your home library on a private IP.
Read the answer →Everything works. The ChatGPT/Gemini wrinkle, and what happens the moment you cross to Shenzhen.
Read the answer → Not neededSame as Hong Kong: open internet, AI asterisk, and a Zhuhai border ten minutes from the old town.
Read the answer → Not neededOne of Asia's freest internets, ChatGPT included. What travelers actually use a VPN for there.
Read the answer →Just want the app for a destination? VPN for China · VPN for Japan
Also: The State of Split Tunneling on iOS: 2026 report · run your own travel VPN for ~$5/month · how Traveler's VPN compares to ExpressVPN, NordVPN, Astrill, and more