Google confirms Russian antivirus company Kaspersky's apps have been removed from Play Store

In a dramatic turn of events, Google has pulled the plug on Kaspersky’s antivirus apps from its Play Store, and it’s got everyone asking what happened. Last month, users across the globe began noticing that Kaspersky’s Android security apps had vanished. If you were planning to update your Kaspersky VPN or antivirus, bad news – it’s currently not happening on Google Play Store in the U.S. and other parts of the world.

So, what’s the deal? Well, Kaspersky confirmed the mystery through its official forums, sounding a bit like an episode of “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” as they started investigating why their apps had disappeared into thin air. “We are working to restore the availability of Kaspersky solutions on Google Play,” a company employee said. In the meantime, they advised users to turn to alternative app stores like the Galaxy Store, Huawei AppGallery, Xiaomi GetApps and others, or, if you’re the adventurous type, download the .apk from their website.

Here’s where things get spicy: This isn’t a glitch or an accidental press of the “Delete” button. Google’s move is tied to sanctions that have been brewing against the Russian cybersecurity giant. The U.S. Department of Commerce slapped Kaspersky with a ban in June over national security concerns. The government essentially said, “No more Kaspersky in our backyard,” and that led Google to drop the company from its app store.

“The U.S. Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security recently announced a variety of restrictions on Kaspersky. As a result, we have removed Kaspersky’s apps from Google Play,” a Google spokesperson told BleepingComputer.

This isn’t the first time apps have been unceremoniously kicked off major platforms due to political tension. Back in 2020, TikTok and WeChat had a similar brush with removal in the U.S. under the Trump administration. While TikTok got a last-minute stay of execution, WeChat had its services threatened for months. On the other side of the world, in India, TikTok, along with hundreds of other Chinese apps, was permanently axed amid national security concerns.

And if you’re wondering whether Kaspersky is handling this with grace – well, not so much. Just a month ago, the company deleted its anti-malware software from computers across the U.S. without even so much as a heads-up to customers, replacing it with UltraAV’s solution.

So, for now, Kaspersky fans will have to look elsewhere for their security needs, at least on Android. But with the company investigating and exploring options, it’s safe to say this saga isn’t over just yet.