Russia Bans WhatsApp: Russian authorities have cracked down on WhatsApp, blaming it for ignoring local rules that say Russian user data needs to stay inside the country. Since 2025, they’ve slowed down stuff like voice and video calls—so the app just doesn’t work as well as it used to. This isn’t out of nowhere. They already did something similar with Facebook, Instagram, and Telegram. It’s all part of Moscow’s push to keep a tight grip on digital life. WhatsApp hasn’t stayed quiet about any of this. The company says Russia’s just trying to break up secure messaging for millions of people.
MAX App Emerges as the State-Favored Platform
Now there’s MAX, a new “super app” from the Russian tech giant VK. It showed up in early 2025, and it’s basically an all-in-one platform: messaging, calls, payments, even government stuff. Unlike WhatsApp, though, MAX skips end-to-end encryption. Still, it’s taken off fast—over 45 million accounts, and about 18 million people use it every day. Every new device in Russia comes with MAX already on it, and tons of people—public workers, teachers, students—have to use it. Experts are sounding the alarm, saying MAX is a surveillance tool in disguise, since the government can get into its servers whenever they want.
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Balancing Safety Claims with Privacy Concerns
The Kremlin claims MAX keeps people safe from scams and online threats, especially kids. But privacy advocates aren’t buying it. They’re worried about more surveillance, government snooping, and tighter controls on what people can say online. Russia hasn’t outright banned WhatsApp yet, but most analysts think it’s only a matter of time. When that happens, people will have little choice but to switch to MAX.
