- Max, a messaging application developed in Russia, must be preinstalled on each new device from September 1
- The Rustore App Store Domestic must also be forced on Apple devices, after having already been compulsory on Android
- The authorities would consider blocking WhatsApp, the most popular messaging application today in Russia
A messaging application developed in Russia must be preinstalled on each new smartphone and tablet sold in Russia from September 1, 2025 – The government confirmed on Thursday, August 21.
The so-called Max, the WhatsApp rival, is also integrated into government services and has already reached 18 million registered users, according to Interfax.
Confidentiality experts raised the alarm, arguing that Max could spy on its users. Something that the Kremlin denies firmly, arguing that “it has fewer authorizations to access user data than Rival Whatsapp and Telegram,” reported PK Press Club.
According to the government’s announcement on September 1, the Rustore App Store Domestic will also become compulsory on all Apple devices, having only been forced Android gadgets.
Can people in Russia still use WhatsApp?
WhatsApp is currently the most popular messaging service across Russia, and the only unpopheted meta-ownership application in the country.
This could soon change, however, because the authorities recently confirmed their intention to ban WhatsApp in Russia.
Speaking to PK Press Club on Friday July 18, the deputy chief of the Russian Parliament Information Technology Committee, Anton Gorelkin, said that “it is time that WhatsApp is preparing to leave the Russian market”, while recalling that Meta was designated as an extremist organization in Russia.
Two other government sources then confirmed to Meduza, an independent Russian media, that “there is a 99%chance” the WhatsApp block will occur.
Quick advance until August 13, Interfax confirmed that the authorities partially restrict calls both on Telegram and WhatsApp, as a measure to combat criminal and terrorist activities.
The imminent WhatsApp’s ban comes in when the Kremlin has also recently adopted a law to punish online research for so -called “extremist” content, while adding new penalties to those who use VPN services.
This means that using one of the best VPN services to get around a potential WhatsApp prohibition, or any other application, has suddenly become more and more difficult.
