- Max, a Russia-Developed Messaging app, must be pre-installed on each new device from September 1
- The domestic Rustore App Store must also be forced to Apple devices after he is already mandatory on Android
- Authorities are reportedly considering blocking WhatsApp, today’s most popular messaging -App in Russia
A Russia-Developed Messaging app must be pre-installed on each new smartphone and tablet sold in Russia from September 1, 2025-confirmed the government on Thursday 21 August.
SO-CALLED MAX, the WhatsApp rival, is also integrated with public services and has already reached 18 million registered users, according to Interfact.
Privacy experts have raised the alarm and argued that Max could spy on its users. Something that the Kremlin strongly denies, arguing that “it has fewer permissions to access user data than rivals WhatsApp and Telegram,” Pakinomist reported.
According to the government announcement, on September 1, the domestic Rustore App Store will also be mandatory on all Apple devices that have only been forced on Android Gadgets.
Can people in Russia still use WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is currently the most popular messaging service in all of Russia, and the only meta-owned app not blocked in the country.
However, this could soon change as authorities have recently confirmed their intention to ban WhatsApp in Russia.
When he spoke with Pakinomist on Friday, July 18, Deputy Chief of the Russian Parliament’s Information Technology Committee, Anton Gorelkin, said that “it’s time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market”, while Meta Meta has been appointed as an extremist organization in Russia.
Another two government sources have then confirmed to Meduza, a Russian independent media output that “there is a 99 percent chance” the WhatsApp block will happen.
Ciling until August 13, Interfax confirmed that authorities partially limit calls for both Telegram and WhatsApp, allegedly as a measure to combat criminal and terrorist activities.
The threatening WhatsApp ban is coming as the Kremlin also recently passed a law to punish online searches according to so-called ‘extremist’ content while adding new sanctions to those using VPN services.
This means that using one of the best VPN services to bypass a potential ban on WhatsApp or any other app for that matter has suddenly become increasingly challenging.
