- Max will be required for mobile phones and tablets sold in Russia starting September 1.
- The app, created by VK, replaces VK Messenger and has 18 million accounts, with integration of public services.
- The regulator is restricting WhatsApp and Telegram calls and is also requiring RuStore to be pre-installed on Apple devices.
- The plan has drawn criticism over privacy issues, and the first cases of fraud linked to Max use have been reported.
Russia has given the green light to pre-install Max on all phones and tablets sold in the country., a step that reinforces its digital sovereignty strategy and reorganizes the messaging map. The measure comes at a time of strong tension with foreign platforms and greater intervention in the online space.
The announcement does not come in isolation: The regulator has limited WhatsApp and Telegram voice calls. and will require the presence of the RuStore store by default also on Apple devicesA clear debate is brewing on the table between security, control, and privacy that will shape the daily lives of millions of users.
What is Max and what changes
The Government has confirmed that Max joins the list of mandatory pre-installation apps since September 1st and that will replace VK Messenger in the software package that must come standard with electronic devices.
Launched in March by the VK group, Max combines messaging, calling, and payments, and provides for additional modules (e.g. travel bookings) in addition to integrate with state servicesAccording to data cited by TASS, the platform is around the 18 million records since its premiere.
The application won a public competition and aims to become a multifunctional service that centralizes communication, procedures and, potentially, identification. In parallel, Officials and legislators have been urged to migrate channels from Telegram to Max, aligning institutional communication.
This movement is based on the law passed in 2021 which requires national software pre-installed on mobile phones, tablets and computersThe authorities argue that this promotes access to “secure” communications and fraud is reduced, while critics fear a knock-on effect on online freedom.
WhatsApp and Telegram hit, and app store changes
Roskomnadzor has imposed Restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram voice calls, with widespread complaints of noise and outages. The regulator says that will restore the function only if the rules are followed national, a scenario that companies see complicated by their encryption policy.
In Russia, WhatsApp surpasses 90 million users and Telegram is around similar numbers. Both defend the end-to-end encryption, while authorities maintain that this protection hinders investigations into crimes such as fraud or terrorism.
Digital rights researchers and technology policy analysts describe a sustained pressure to push the population towards Max. In his diagnosis, if there is no real alternative For critical functions (such as calls), the transfer will be a matter of time.
Closing the circle includes RuStore: The Russian app store will also have to be pre-installed on Apple devices., when until now its mandatory use was limited to Android. With this, the State controls not only messaging, but also the main software distribution channel.
In the living room, The Lime HD TV app will be integrated by default starting January 1st., offering access to state channels on smart TVs. The result is a more cohesive and dependent on local solutions.
Privacy, surveillance and first incidents
Organizations and experts have compared Max with the Chinese model WeChat, where messaging coexists with payments and public services, and warns of possible surveillance risksRussian media deny the accusations and claim that Max request fewer permits than foreign competitors.
Documentation and reports indicate that Max will be integrated with the state services portal and identification functions, and its possible use has even been mentioned in electronic voting systemsThe convergence of identity and messaging raises the bar for data protection.
Researchers point out that the app could collect metadata and location data, as well as device information, while registration would require a Russian or Belarusian SIM. Authorities insist that the goal is security and fight against fraud.
They have already met First incidents of fraud linked to the use of Max: The Ministry of the Interior reported a first arrest for fraud and in another case, local media reported the scam of 2,5 million rubles to a pensioner in St. Petersburg.
On the corporate level, Max is the work of VK, a state-controlled groupThe company was co-founded by Pavel Durov, who left in 2014, and is now run by Vladimir Kiriyenko, which underlines the public weight in the development of the ecosystem.
Max's forced deployment, RuStore's demands, and limits on WhatsApp and Telegram They draw a new stage in which the State gains supervisory capacity, while Citizens value usefulness, trust and freedom of choice before a platform called to be omnipresent.
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