You want to send a selfie to a friend, but WhatsApp won't open. There could be many reasons for this — from holiday restrictions to nationwide blockages or hosting-side issues.
If you have followed all the steps in our guide on how to restore your connection, the problem is most likely not on your side. It is time to turn to services that track access issues to internet resources.
Why Track Internet Issues
The global network was conceived as a worldwide forum where participants could freely communicate, learn, obtain information, and exchange it. And all of this — outside of state borders and control.
Internet blockages disrupt the economy, education, science, as well as cultural, technological, and international exchange. In some countries, such as France, Greece, Spain, and Costa Rica, network access is a human right protected by law, on par with freedom of the press or religion.
Thus, the level of internet censorship often coincides with the levels of societal openness and freedom of speech in a country. Any restrictions highlight topics that are sensitive for the state, whether those be elections, protests, or armed conflicts.
Given that, data on blockages from independent sources serves as a barometer for freedom of information exchange.
Beyond ideological reasons, there are also practical ones.
To Spot Changes in Blocking and Censorship Mechanisms
Internet restrictions are evolving. To track their evolution, historical data is necessary. Restriction and outage tracking services collect and provide this information.
The same holds true in the short term. By noticing drops in a specific type of traffic over the course of a week, a VPN service team can assume that the blocking mechanism has changed and develop countermeasures.
To Learn About Blockages in Real Time
The most obvious: services like Downdetector and Amnezia Pulse answer the questions “Is this website down just for me, or is it a service-side issue?” and “Which regions are currently cut off from the internet?”.
Holding Government Entities Accountable
If a company can prove that connection difficulties occurred due to the fault of the authorities — for example, if access disappears simultaneously for three operators in a region — it will have evidence that the problem did not originate on the providers' side.
For instance, in 2020, a court in Togo ruled that internet shutdownsMass connectivity blackouts at the infrastructure level imposed by the state during mass protests were illegal.
How Amnezia VPN Monitors Blockages
We monitor the connection status among our users, and in April 2026, we launched Amnezia Pulse to share data with researchers and the media.
By analyzing anonymized inbound traffic on user devices in a given region, we detect anomalies, including artificial throttling, and record them if they last longer than an hour.
Amnezia VPN users not only gain access to their favorite resources but also help us track the state of the network in real time so that we can resolve technical issues faster.
Who Else Tracks Internet Issues
Services that analyze network conditions can be broadly divided into four categories.
User Complaint Aggregators
- VPNalyzer — an initiative by researchers from the University of Michigan. It analyzes the performance of VPN services, which is particularly important in the context of internet censorship.
- Downdetector — an Ookla project that collects, analyzes, and publishes user reports about service issues worldwide. It was one of the first services to track outages.
- Detector404.ru — a Russian alternative to Downdetector. It offers an interactive outage map and a “tag cloud” where frequent complaints take center stage.
Technical Tools That Independently Assess Network Conditions
- Netblocks Internet Observatory — specializes in recording shutdowns. It’s also worth noting their COST (Cost of Shutdown Tool) project, which demonstrates the economic impact of blockages.
- OONI (Open Observatory of Network Interference) — a duo of open-source tools that tracks internet censorship.
OONI Probe — downloadable for a user's smartphone or computer, turns the device into a network sensor. It measures connection speed, checks if services are accessible, and detects whether there is surveillance at any stage of the connection.
Their other tool, OONI Explorer, systematizes information from the OONI Probe network and converts it into clear charts regarding resource availability, broken down by region, connection type, and other parameters. - Cloudflare Radar — monitors the state of internet traffic, website and app security, as well as their availability in real-time.
Analytical Portals and Registries
- Internet Society Pulse — collects data on internet reliability and resilience worldwide, helping identify issues. It primarily detects shutdowns initiated by government entities.
- BlockedIn.org — aggregates Russia’s Roskomnadzor registries. It shows whether a resource has entered the registry of banned websites and which companies have agreed to cooperate with the authorities based on data from the ORIInformation Dissemination Organizers registry.
- Internet Freedom Kazakhstan — a specialized resource for Kazakhstan. It collects data on shutdowns, compiles a list of websites blocked in the country, and analyzes digital legislation in the republic.
- Belarusian Dump Check — a bot that checks if a website is blocked in Belarus.
Help Researchers and Stay Connected
At least two services from the lists above collect information from users. You can participate in their work!
- OONI Probe — install the client for Windows, Linux, macOS, Android, or iOS; your connection data will help build a global map of internet availability.
- VPNalyzer — download the app for Windows, Linux, or macOS so that the University of Michigan team can evaluate your VPN's performance.
You can also mix business with pleasure — restore access to your favorite resources and help us track the next wave of blockages in your region. To do this, install one of two solutions:
- Amnezia Free — bypasses the most common blockages.
- Amnezia Premium — operates at speeds up to 200 Mbps and supports up to seven devices — enough for friends and family.
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