What's Blocked in China in 2026: The Work-App Checklist
Which work apps are blocked in mainland China in October 2026: 60 chat, docs, design, AI, developer and payment tools, checked and dated, with what to do.
Updated October 2026.
The short answer
As of October 2026, Google (Gmail, Drive, Meet, Maps), WhatsApp, Telegram, Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube, ChatGPT, Claude, Dropbox and Docker Hub are blocked in mainland China. Slack, Microsoft 365, Teams, Zoom, GitHub, Figma and LinkedIn often open but are unreliable. WeChat, Alipay, DingTalk, Feishu, WPS and DeepSeek work normally.
Table of contents
- How we checked
- The checklist, by category
- Why do some apps open but crawl?
- What can you use in China without a VPN?
- How does a router end the VPN on, VPN off routine?
- When Throughwire isn't the right choice
- Common questions
- Details for your IT team
- Related guides
How we checked
We checked every row on 23 October 2026 against two sources:
- GreatFire Analyzer (en.greatfire.org/analyzer), which tests web addresses from probes inside mainland China and compares them with a control outside it. We used its latest result for each app's main address (most tests ran between July and October 2026), plus its results for the other addresses each app loads from.
- The companies' own pages, where a company runs a separate China service or says it does not serve China.
We did not test these apps from inside China ourselves. Blocking changes without notice, so treat this as a dated snapshot.
What the statuses mean:
- Blocked: GreatFire's latest test of the main address found interference. We list all Google services as blocked because google.com itself tested blocked on 23 October 2026.
- Unreliable or slow: the main address may open, but GreatFire records blocking or on-and-off ("intermittent") results on it or on many of the addresses the app needs, so sign-in, files or calls can stall.
- Works (China version): the company runs a separate mainland service, usually with separate accounts.
- Works: opens normally. These are mostly Chinese services that run inside China.
The last column shows what a Throughwire router does. Stays local means the app uses your normal Chinese line and none of your Throughwire data. Goes through Throughwire means it uses the encrypted international connection. This comes from our routing list (catalog 2026.10), which you can search on our routing page.
The checklist, by category
Work chat and email
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Slack | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady use | Goes through Throughwire |
| Microsoft 365: Outlook, Word, Excel, SharePoint | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady use | Goes through Throughwire |
| Gmail | Blocked | Needs a VPN. Local mail: QQ Mail, NetEase | Goes through Throughwire |
| WeChat and WeCom | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| DingTalk | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| Feishu and Lark | Works | Feishu is the mainland edition | Stays local |
Documents and storage
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Drive, Docs and Sheets | Blocked | Needs a VPN. Local: WPS, Feishu Docs | Goes through Throughwire |
| OneDrive (personal) | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Dropbox | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Notion | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| iCloud Drive | Works (China version) | China-mainland accounts use iCloud run by GCBD (Apple) | Stays local |
| WPS Office | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| Jira and Confluence | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady use | Goes through Throughwire |
| Trello and Asana | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady use | Goes through Throughwire |
Design
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Figma | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady use | Goes through Throughwire |
| Canva | Works (China version) | Canva China (canva.cn) uses separate accounts | canva.com goes through; canva.cn stays local |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | Unreliable or slow | Sign-in and sync can stall | Goes through Throughwire |
| Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
Video calls
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Microsoft Teams | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN, or Teams operated by 21Vianet (Microsoft) | Goes through Throughwire |
| Zoom | Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady calls | Goes through Throughwire |
| Google Meet | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Tencent Meeting (VooV) | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
AI tools
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | Blocked | China is not on OpenAI's supported list | Goes through Throughwire; OpenAI's rules still apply |
| Claude | Blocked | China is not on Anthropic's supported list | Goes through Throughwire; Anthropic's rules still apply |
| Gemini | Blocked | Google lists "Mainland China (Workspace only)" (Google) | Goes through Throughwire |
| Perplexity | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Microsoft Copilot | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| DeepSeek | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| Kimi and Doubao | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
Developer tools
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| GitHub | Unreliable or slow | Clones and downloads stall without a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| GitLab.com | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Docker Hub | Blocked | Needs a VPN, or a registry inside China | Goes through Throughwire |
| npm and PyPI | Works | Chinese mirrors such as npmmirror are a common choice | Goes through Throughwire; npmmirror stays local |
| Stack Overflow | Unreliable or slow | Pages load, some parts stall | Goes through Throughwire |
| Hugging Face | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| AWS console (global) | Unreliable or slow | AWS China regions need a separate account (AWS) | Goes through Throughwire; amazonaws.cn stays local |
Social and messaging
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire | |
| Telegram | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Signal | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Facebook and Messenger | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Instagram and Threads | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| X (Twitter) | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Unreliable or slow | Needs a VPN for steady use | Goes through Throughwire | |
| Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire | |
| TikTok | Blocked | Douyin is the separate mainland app | Goes through Throughwire; Douyin stays local |
| Xiaohongshu (RED), Weibo and Douyin | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
Streaming
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| YouTube | Blocked | Needs a VPN. Local: Bilibili | Goes through Throughwire |
| Netflix | Unreliable or slow | Netflix says it is not available in China | Goes through Throughwire; Netflix's region rules apply |
| Spotify | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Apple Music | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| Bilibili, iQIYI, Tencent Video and Youku | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
Payments and banking
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alipay and WeChat Pay | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| UnionPay and Chinese bank apps | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
| PayPal | Unreliable or slow | Pages can stall | Goes through Throughwire |
| Wise | Unreliable or slow | Pages can stall | Goes through Throughwire |
| Stripe dashboard | Unreliable or slow | Pages can stall | Goes through Throughwire |
Search, maps and reference
| App | Status from mainland China | What to do | With a Throughwire router |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Search and Google Maps | Blocked | Needs a VPN. Local: Baidu, Amap | Goes through Throughwire |
| Wikipedia | Blocked | Needs a VPN | Goes through Throughwire |
| Bing | Works | Nothing needed | cn.bing.com stays local; the rest goes through |
| Baidu and Amap | Works | Nothing needed | Stays local |
Why do some apps open but crawl?
An app is not one web address. It is dozens: the main page, sign-in, file storage, images, call servers and updates. If one of those is blocked, the app waits for it, so a page half-loads, an upload spins or a call connects without video.
GreatFire's results show this clearly. Of the 73 addresses it has tested on slack.com, 3 were blocked, 52 intermittent and 17 clear. On zoom.us, 13 of 115 were blocked and 59 intermittent. On github.com, 73 of 965 were blocked and 634 intermittent. The front door opens; the rooms behind it often don't.
Ordinary websites do the same. Many load fonts, maps, sign-in buttons or captchas from Google, and when that one piece is blocked, the whole page can hang.
The fix is to send every address a service uses over one steady international connection, and to keep Chinese apps on your local line where they are fastest.
What can you use in China without a VPN?
Chinese services work normally, with nothing to install: WeChat and WeCom, DingTalk, Feishu, WPS, Tencent Meeting, Alipay, Taobao, JD.com, Meituan, Didi, Amap, Baidu, Bilibili, DeepSeek, Kimi and Doubao.
Some global companies also run a separate China edition:
- iCloud for Apple Accounts set to China mainland, operated by GCBD (Apple).
- Canva China at canva.cn. Canva's developer documentation says no data is shared between the two regions.
- Microsoft Teams operated by 21Vianet, which Microsoft describes as "a physically separated instance service located in China" (Microsoft).
- AWS China regions, which need an AWS (China) account separate from global AWS (AWS).
These are separate services with separate accounts, sometimes with fewer features, so check that one covers your needs before moving.
How does a router end the VPN on, VPN off routine?
A VPN app in "global" mode sends everything abroad, Chinese apps included. WeChat images take the long way round, payment apps see a foreign address, and people switch the VPN off to pay, then forget to switch it back for their next call. Why WeChat, Alipay and bank apps break with a VPN on explains this.
Smart routing removes the switch. A Throughwire router decides for every connection: the "Stays local" apps in the tables above use your normal line, and the "Goes through Throughwire" apps use the international connection. It covers every device on the Wi-Fi, including TVs, printers and meeting-room screens that can't run a VPN app. Local traffic doesn't use your Throughwire data.
You set it up once from a Mac or Windows laptop on a GL.iNet router (we recommend the Flint 2 for offices and busy homes) or a router running OpenWrt 24.10 or 25.12. After that it keeps itself updated and refreshes its China lists. See which GL.iNet router to buy and our router setup for teams.
When Throughwire isn't the right choice
- You only use Chinese apps. Everything already works without us.
- Your company needs a licensed cross-border line for compliance reasons. Our guide to office internet options explains when a leased line is the right answer.
- Your main need is an AI service for a company. OpenAI and Anthropic set their own country rules, and a network can't change them. Read what's officially supported first.
- You want one flat price for many app devices with no data allowance. A consumer VPN app may cost less. Our plans have data allowances.
Common questions
Is Notion blocked in China?
Yes, in practice. GreatFire's latest test of notion.so (July 2026) found it blocked, and notion.com tested intermittent in October 2026. On a Throughwire router it goes through Throughwire.
Is Canva blocked in China?
Canva's global site, canva.com, tested intermittent in September 2026. Canva also runs Canva China at canva.cn, which uses separate accounts, and its developer documentation says no data is shared between the two. On a Throughwire router, canva.com goes through Throughwire and canva.cn stays local.
Is Zoom blocked in China?
Not completely. GreatFire found zoom.us's main address reachable on 22 October 2026, but 13 of the 115 Zoom addresses it has tested were blocked and 59 intermittent, which is why calls can fail to connect or drop. Tencent Meeting is a local alternative.
Is LinkedIn blocked in China?
Not at its main address, which tested reachable on 3 October 2026. GreatFire records 25 of 67 LinkedIn addresses as intermittent, so pages and messages can be slow or incomplete.
Can I use ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini in China?
OpenAI and Anthropic do not list mainland China as a supported region, and Google lists mainland China as "Workspace only" for the Gemini web app. A network connection does not change a provider's terms. DeepSeek, Kimi and Doubao are local alternatives. Our AI guide covers the details.
Details for your IT team
- The router checks each connection against signed lists in order: international overrides, curated China-direct domains, international domains, broader China domains, then mainland China IP ranges. Anything unmatched goes through Throughwire.
- International domain names are resolved through the tunnel; Chinese names use the local resolver.
- Look up any domain or IP address on our routing page; it answers the way a router does.
Related guides
- Why WeChat, Alipay and Bank Apps Break With a VPN On
- ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini in China (2026): What's Officially Supported
- GitHub, Docker Hub and npm From China: A Developer Setup That Works
- Microsoft Teams and Microsoft 365 in China
- What stays local and what goes through Throughwire