(Yicai Global) Aug. 3 -- Smartphone maker Apple Inc. [NASDAQ:AAPL] has removed virtual private network applications from its App Store in China as the nation's government looks to move a step further in censoring information it disapproves of.

The Chinese government tightened control over VPN services in 2015, said Tim Cook, chief executive, requiring developers to obtain a license from the government.

"China has doubled down on implantation of the policy this year," online news outlet The Paper reported yesterday. As many of the VPN apps don't meet the regulatory requirements, the government requested Apple pulls them from the store.

VPN services are widely used by companies to set up dedicated online networks with an encrypted connection. Expats in the country also use VPNs to access banned social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to communicate with friends and family back home.

Foreign media also reported on the story, and ExpressVPN, one of the providers, said online that all leading VPN services, including itself, had been removed from the App Store's mainland version.

The policy mainly targets unlicensed services and those not fulfilling regulatory requirements, Zhang Feng, chief engineer at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology said at a press briefing on July 25, adding that it will not affect compliant businesses or individuals.

"We would obviously rather not remove the apps, but like we do in other countries we follow the law wherever we do business," Cook added.

Despite removing the apps in the mainland, the CEO reiterated Apple's stand on the issue -- it will aim to bring the most interesting products to local consumers. "We believe in engaging with governments even when we disagreed," he said. "This particular case, we're hopeful that over time the restrictions we're seeing are lessened."