The status of using VPNs in the UAE remains unclear, despite recent attempts at clarification. Some residents of the UAE have already voiced their apprehensions towards the country’s web policies. Students of NYU Abu Dhabi are granted the use of a legal VPN.

"Although the NYU VPN allows students to connect to the NYUAD network and therefore access resources normally blocked in the UAE, it is not a means to evade the law," said Assistant Director of IT Service Management Danny Abbas.

The VPN service allows NYUAD students to access resources as if they were on campus.

In terms of personal use, recent amendments were made to the UAE’s cyber policies making apps like Skype, Snapchat, WhatsApp and others legal. What is now considered illegal is using a VPN in order to gain access to applications that are not approved by the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority or by either one of the two telecommunication companies in the UAE, Etisalat and du.