DELETE FROM users WHERE location = 'IRAN'; An Iranian software engineer shares personal experiences of discrimination and access restrictions caused by geopolitical sanctions and policies, impacting his digital work and interactions. --- Key Stories of Online Restriction and Censorship Microsoft Deleted My App, Ignored My Emails As a student, the author published an open-source app called EyesGuard on the Microsoft Store. The app and developer account were removed without explanation, likely due to US sanctions against Iran. Efforts to contact Microsoft support were ignored, resulting in a loss of app presence and user engagement. Notion Wiped Me Out of Existence Notion, a personal note-taking tool, deleted all user data associated with Iranian users due to sanctions. Despite contacting support, the author was told the data would not be restored, even if he leaves Iran. This experience motivated the author to switch to the self-hosted Siyuan note-taking software. Mike Cardwell Kindly Asked Me to “Fuck Off” Access to websites like grepular.com was blocked for Iranian IPs, citing political reasons related to Russian aggression. The author explained via email that the Iranian people do not support the regime’s political decisions and sympathize with Ukraine. No response was received from the website owner. GitHub Freaked Me Out Initially, GitHub blocked Iranian users from accessing private repositories. Later, GitHub obtained a US government license, restoring access to Iranian developers. The author also self-hosted Gitea as a backup during the outage. GitLab Freaked Me Out GitLab banned accounts that had accessed services from Iranian IPs, and this ban persists for all repositories. Unlike GitHub, GitLab did not secure a license to operate in Iran. The author notes GitLab remains great software and can be self-hosted. --- Broader Context and Impact Many global platforms are banned or restricted for Iranian users: cloud platforms (AWS, GCP, Azure), education platforms (Coursera, Udemy), and payment services (Stripe, PayPal). These bans affect Iranian developers, students, and professionals, limiting their participation in global tech communities and economies. --- Personal Reflections and Lessons Learned The author does not blame the companies; understands they operate within complex political and legal constraints. He emphasizes the importance of empathy when implementing service restrictions that impact real people. Lessons learned include a commitment to consider the human side behind technical blocks or “if” statements in code. --- Footnote The author explicitly supports the Iranian people, who are victims of their regime’s oppressive policies. He does not request the removal of sanctions targeting the Iranian government. The post serves as a recollection of personal events resulting from geopolitical actions beyond his control. --- The author's experience is a candid account of how international sanctions and political decisions affect individual lives and digital access in Iran.