iOS 15.2 App Privacy Report Feature

With the release of iOS 15.2, a new App Privacy Report Feature allows users of iOS devices to have visibility on what data apps access.

Why is data being sent from the ExpressVPN app to Google/LaunchDarkly/others? 

ExpressVPN is a privacy-focused company that only collects minimal information about usage of our service in order to 1) help identify and address any technical issues, and 2) maintain the operation of a leading VPN service at scale. Any data being sent from the ExpressVPN app to third parties falls under these two categories.

We’ve proudly designed our systems from the ground up to not contain any sensitive data about our users. Any data collected is not, and cannot, be tied to any user of our service—this data includes both what users do on our app as well as their online activities. Rest assured that even when compelled, we cannot provide any personal identifiers, as they do not exist.

We do not collect logs of your activity. This includes your browsing history, traffic destination, data content, and DNS queries. 

We also never store connection logs. This includes your actual IP address, the IP address assigned to you when you connect to the VPN, connection timestamps, or the duration of your sessions.

Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.

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What are these domains contacted by ExpressVPN that are listed in my App Privacy Report? 

Apple’s new App Privacy Report feature on iOS is designed to provide users of iOS devices with transparency into the ways apps access data. This includes capturing various domains that the ExpressVPN app communicates with. 

Some of these domains are controlled by us and are used solely for operational purposes. You cannot opt out of these as they are necessary for the ExpressVPN app to function. LaunchDarkly, an external domain not owned by ExpressVPN, helps us operate features within our app remotely so we can deploy new features to you faster.

Other domains will appear when you tap a message at the bottom of your app home screen (Apple labels these “Websites Visited in App”) or when you tap other menu items, such as the Support Articles under Help (which are labeled “Domains Contacted Directly by App”). 

Some of these domains are the IP addresses of the VPN servers you are using when you connect to the VPN, which are typically listed as Unnamed Domains that contain just numbers. (For technical reasons, the address that your app connects to and the address that is outwardly shown and visible to IP-checking tools are often different.)

And some of these domains (such as Firebase Crashlytics or Google Analytics) are used for diagnostic purposes, such as crash reports. This data is completely anonymized and cannot be traced back to you. We explain how we use these services in our Privacy Policy, which also includes information on how to opt out.

Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.

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How can I opt out of sending diagnostic data from the ExpressVPN app to third parties?

All users are given the opportunity to decide whether to share diagnostic data when they install the app. 

If you have previously approved sharing diagnostic information and now prefer to opt out:

1. Open the ExpressVPN app and tap Options.
2. Tap Settings.
3. Tap Help improve ExpressVPN.
4. Toggle the switch to off.

If you are a beta user, you will need to follow the above steps and also toggle off Report bugs & feedback (Instabug).

Beta users who wish to stop participating in our beta program must also follow these steps:

1. Open TestFlight.
2. Tap ExpressVPN.
3. Tap Stop Testing, then tap Stop Testing again.

Go to the App Store, then install and update the ExpressVPN app.

Need help? Contact the ExpressVPN Support Team for immediate assistance.

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