Moscow: Russia has announced that MAX, a newly introduced state-backed messaging app positioned as a domestic alternative to WhatsApp, will become mandatory on all mobile phones and tablets sold in the country from September 1.
The app, developed by state-controlled tech giant VK, is integrated with government services and is seen as part of Moscow’s drive for tighter control over its digital space. Critics, however, warn that it could facilitate state surveillance.
The rollout of MAX coincides with Moscow’s growing restrictions on foreign-owned messaging platforms. Earlier this month, authorities began limiting certain call functions on WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms, and on Telegram, claiming both services failed to provide law enforcement with information in cases linked to fraud and terrorism.
In response, WhatsApp, which had 97.3 million users in Russia as of July, accused Moscow of deliberately curbing access to secure communications. Telegram, with a user base of 90.8 million, maintained that it actively combats harmful misuse of its platform.
According to different data, the country’s third most popular messenger in July was VK Messenger with 17.9 million users, also operated by VK, the same company behind MAX. The government revealed this week that 18 million people have already downloaded MAX, though officials acknowledged parts of the platform remain in a testing phase.
Russia’s interior ministry endorsed MAX as being safer than its foreign competitors but confirmed the arrest of a suspect in the first fraud case linked to the app.
Alongside the mandatory installation of MAX, the government also declared that RuStore, Russia’s domestic app marketplace currently pre-installed on Android devices, will have to be pre-loaded onto all Apple devices sold in Russia starting September 1.
In a further push for homegrown platforms, authorities ordered that from January 1, 2026, all smart TVs sold in Russia must come pre-installed with LIME HD TV, an online streaming service that provides free access to Russian state television channels.
MOST READ | Study links youth vaping to higher risk of future smoking
