Glovo

Glovo Blocked in China and North Korea: Censorship, Tech, and Workarounds

What Glovo Is

Glovo is a Spanish food delivery and last-mile logistics platform launched in 2015 by founder Sacha Michaud. The company operates across Europe, Africa, and parts of Asia, with headquarters in Madrid. Its parent company structure includes backing from investors including Delivery Hero and other venture capital firms. The platform enables users to order food and groceries through a mobile app, connecting them with restaurants and independent couriers. As of recent reports, Glovo operates in around 25 countries with millions of active users, though its footprint remains concentrated outside Asia.

Why Glovo Is Censored

Glovo's blocking in China and North Korea stems from distinct regulatory environments rather than a single censorship mechanism.

In China, food delivery platforms operate under strict content moderation and data localization requirements set by the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC). Foreign platforms without Chinese subsidiary status and servers hosted domestically face de facto blocking. Glovo never established compliant local operations in mainland China, making it subject to the Great Firewall's automated filtering. The Chinese government prioritizes domestic platforms like Meituan and Ele.me, which meet data sovereignty and Communist Party oversight standards. Additionally, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) enforces telecommunications regulations that block foreign apps lacking proper licensing.

North Korea's censorship is absolute. The regime operates Kwangmyong, its domestic intranet, which blocks virtually all foreign services by default. Glovo—like nearly all non-state platforms—is inaccessible to the general North Korean population. The blocking reflects the regime's blanket prohibition on unauthorized foreign content and economic activity outside state channels. International food delivery has no commercial or political role in the DPRK's isolated economy.

Technical Blocking Methods

China employs layered technical blocking. IP-based filtering blocks known Glovo servers at the border gateway. Domain name system (DNS) poisoning returns null responses for glovo.com and regional subdomains. Deep packet inspection (DPI) examines traffic patterns and can identify VPN tunnels or proxy usage, triggering throttling or disconnection. SNI (Server Name Indication) filtering in HTTPS connections allows the Great Firewall to block domain names even when IP addresses are obscured.

North Korea's blocking is simpler: international internet access is restricted to a narrow elite, and the general population has no pathway to foreign services. Technical sophistication is less relevant; blocking occurs at the network architecture level.

User Workarounds

Users in China attempting to access Glovo typically resort to VPN tunneling or proxy protocols that mask traffic origin and destination. Rotating entry nodes and avoiding mainstream services reduces detection risk, though the CAC actively blocks identified VPN infrastructure. Some users employ less obvious protocols that mimic routine traffic patterns. These methods are technically feasible but violate Chinese telecommunications law and carry enforcement risk.

North Korean users have effectively no workaround. Domestic internet access is controlled, and international connectivity is available only through state-monitored channels.

Alternatives

In China, Meituan and Ele.me dominate. Both are fully compliant with Chinese regulations and face no blocking. Meituan has expanded into logistics and grocery delivery, directly replicating Glovo's feature set.

Due to North Korea's isolation, no commercial food delivery alternatives are meaningfully accessible to the general population.

Outlook

Restrictions on Glovo in China show no signs of easing. The CAC's data localization mandates and preference for state-aligned platforms are hardening, not softening. Foreign platform entry requires subsidiary registration, local servers, and political alignment—barriers Glovo has not crossed.

North Korea's blocking will persist indefinitely under current regime policy. Any change would require systemic political transformation.

For users: Glovo remains functionally censored in these markets with limited recourse beyond regulatory compliance or emigration.