Apple seems to be the first major company to comply with the recent requirements of the Chinese government related to the use of virtual private network (VPN) services in the country.

VPNs allow users to bypass China's so-called "Great Firewall" aimed at restricting access to overseas sites.

Companies that let people avoid the government filters say their programs have been removed from Apple's app store in China.

ExpressVPN, one of the companies, posted on its corporate site a message from Apple saying that its program was "illegal" in China. The software company says that all major virtual-private network apps were removed from the Apple app store in China. Star VPN, another company, says it also received notice of being removed.

"We're disappointed in this development, as it represents the most drastic measure the Chinese government has taken to block the use of VPNs to date, and we are troubled to see Apple aiding China's censorship efforts," ExpressVPN said in a statement.

Another provider, StarVPN, said via its Twitter account on Saturday that it had also received the notice from Apple.

Apple confirmed that it will remove apps that don't comply with the Chinese law from its store.

Apple is establishing a data center with a local partner in the southwestern province of Guizhou to comply with new Chinese cloud storage regulations.