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Google just wiped 9 million Android devices from a secret chinese proxy network

Samira Vishwas | January 31, 2026 3:24 PM CST

2 min readNew DelhiJan 31, 2026 11:52 AM IST

Google says its Threat Intelligence Group has disrupted what it believes is one of the “largest residential proxy networks in the world.” Belonging to a Chinese firm called Ipidea, the invisible network silently used phones, computers and smart devices as rented internet gateways.

In simple language, these networks allowed threat actors to route their internet traffic through phones, making it look like they were browsing from your device instead of their own.

The tech giant says it took the help of a US federal court order to shut down dozens of websites and backend systems used by the firm, which operated using several brand names. Google also removed hundreds of apps associated with the company from Android devices.

As a result, more than 9 million devices are believed to be wiped from the company’s network. Dubbed “residential proxy networks”, the online services offered by Ipidea used apps installed on all internet-connected devices – including but not limited to PCs, mobile phones, and even media players.

Ipidea rented out devices turned into proxies. (Image Source: Google)

The Chinese firm offered access to these devices to paying customers who wanted to surf the internet anonymously. In 2025, hackers found an exploit in millions of devices using Ipidea’s network and took control of at least two million systems, turning them into a huge botnet called Kimwolf.

This botnet was then used to force websites offline through denial-of-service (DoS) attacks. The Wall Street Journal says that when it contacted Ipidea before taking down the network, a spokesperson said the company was engaged in “relatively aggressive market expansion strategies” and that it “conducted promotional activities in inappropriate venues,” such as hacker forums. However, since then, the company seems to have stopped these practices.

While Google has shut down a large portion of Ipidea’s network, users should be aware when installing free apps and games from unknown sources and review any app permissions that look shady.