- Security researchers have discovered that the messaging application developed by Russia Max is delivered with “excessive monitoring” capacities
- The application must be preinstalled on each new device sold in Russia from September 1
- The Kremlin also plans to block WhatsApp, the most popular mail application today in Russia
Russian Whatsapp Rival, the maximum messaging application developed by the State, seems to be designed to spy on its users.
It is the verdict from several technical analyzes commanded by Forbes, just a few days before the application was forced to all the devices sold in Russia. From September 1, technology providers must pre-install the Max application on all new smartphones and tablets.
Experts from the Russian digital rights group, Roskomsvoboda, however told Techradar that Max is in fact with less authorizations than rivals like Telegram and Whatsapp. However, they always strongly suggest the use of the application for confidential communication.
“The biggest problem lies in the fact that everything that is transmitted by Max will be stored on government servers,” said Ilya Perevalov, Roskomsvoboda and Global RKS technical expert in Techradar, adding that the full impact on users “will become clear in the future”.
Developed by VK – The supplier behind Mail.ru Email and VKNOT Social Media Services – Max was launched for the first time in March 2025 and already has 18 million registered users, according to the Russian news agency Interfax. Similar to Chinese WeChat, Max is also integrated into government services.
What are the risks of using Max?
The security researchers who spoke in Forbes all found the application to constantly monitor user activities thanks to “excessive monitoring” capacities. The application also seems to be lacking in encryption protections, while being built on a global design without security.
These results confirm what confidentiality experts have been fear for a long time – the use of max will make Russian citizens vulnerable to state surveillance. An allegation according to which, so far, the Kremlin has denied strongly, declaring to PK Press Club that “it has fewer authorizations to access user data than Rival Whatsapp and Telegram”.
While Roskomsvoboda experts have confirmed what the Kremlin claims on the number of authorizations that Max requests, they still warn that the application could turn into a monitoring tool.
“Max has enormous surveillance potential, because all the information and communication in progress are accessible to intelligence agencies in real time,” explains Perevalov.
Max users are also more at risk of data violations and fraud, especially since sensitive data such as payment and bank details are defined to be integrated into the application.
Overall, “Max should in no case be used for confidential communication,” warns Perevalov.
Can people in Russia use other encrypted messaging services?
While Signal has been blocked in Russia since August last year, WhatsApp is still available and the most used messaging application across the country at the time of writing the country.
This could soon change, however, because the authorities have recently confirmed their intention to ban WhatsApp in Russia, blocking access to Métasma’s property service that still works in the country.
Even more recently, on August 13, 2025, Interfax confirmed that the authorities partially restricted calls both on Telegram and Whatsapp, allegedly to fight against 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.
