Does Surfshark work in India?

As of Sep 10, 2026, Surfshark was last confirmed working in India on Jul 22, 2026, and we have not re-verified it since.

Status: working (unconfirmed since Jul 22, 2026)
Confidence: low
Last verified: Jul 22, 2026
Method: Connects normally, no special settings needed; India IPs come from virtual Mumbai/Delhi locations since the 2022 CERT-In exit (server location only, not in-country usability); app remains on Indian app stores; if issues on a specific ISP, vendor guidance is Camouflage Mode or OpenVPN TCP

Surfshark was last confirmed working in India on Jul 22, 2026. We have not re-verified it since. Get Surfshark

What we're seeing

OONI shows surfshark.com reachable throughout June and July 2026: zero confirmed blocks in 356 measurements, with Jio 68 of 70 clean, Airtel 83 of 84, BSNL 5 of 5, and ACT 29 of 30. Surfshark is not among the apps India ordered removed, and a 2026 India-based review reports the virtual India servers working with good speed retention. Anomalies exist only on small samples (Vodafone Idea, NKN), flagged for re-check.

Sources for the above:

user_report (Jul 22, 2026): OONI Jun 1 to Jul 21 2026: 356 measurements, 0 confirmed blocked, 17 anomalies (about 5 percent), 2 failures; reachable throughout; website not tunnel
user_report (Jul 22, 2026): OONI last-30-day ASN breakdown: Jio 68/70 ok, Airtel 83/84 ok, BSNL 5/5, ACT 29/30; anomalies only on small samples (Vodafone Idea 6/6, NKN 4/4), flagged for re-check
vendor (Jul 22, 2026): Vendor confirmation of the 2022 physical-server shutdown under CERT-In and switch to virtual India locations; context only, not counted toward the verdict
news (Jul 22, 2026): India-based reviewer 2026 (snippet-observed): virtual India servers working with good speed retention; affiliate-class source, corroboration only
news (Jan 2, 2025): Background (Jan 2025): MHA-ordered app-store removals hit Hide.me, PrivadoVPN, Cloudflare 1.1.1.1; Surfshark not among them and nothing newer names it

Common questions

Is using a VPN legal in India?

Yes. VPN use is legal. The 2022 CERT-In rules require providers to keep customer records, which is why most major VPNs removed their physical Indian servers. Jammu and Kashmir has imposed regional VPN bans since December 2025.

Do I need obfuscation in India?

No. Standard protocols connect normally on Jio, Airtel, ACT, and BSNL as of July 2026. India blocks specific websites, not VPN tunnels.

Why do VPNs show virtual Indian servers?

Because of the 2022 CERT-In data rules, most providers moved their Indian IPs to servers hosted abroad. That affects where your Indian IP physically lives, not whether the VPN works from inside India.