On June 4, during a meeting with government officials, Vladimir Putin stated that all public services must be moved to the national messenger app called Max. According to Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadayev, the multiplatform system is already operational.
As Shadayev reported to Putin, over 90 million Russians access foreign messenger services daily. Meanwhile, following China’s example, Russia has launched a national messenger platform that functions not only as a tool of communication, but also allows users to place digital signatures, interact with government officials, and even verify their identity electronically.
“Recently, VK launched a fully domestic Russian messenger, with a basic functionality comparable to foreign competitors. The new Max platform is secure. Its developers will …cooperate with the government to ensure user convenience,” Shadayev announced.
What data will be leaked to security services
The Max app — a Russian equivalent of China’s WeChat — was unveiled by the tech giant VK in late March. At present, it features a messenger, a chatbot builder, a payment system, and mini-apps. On June 5, VTB’s digital bank launched on the platform.
To register, a Belarusian or Russian SIM card is required — which, as The Insider noted, foreigners can no longer obtain without submitting biometric data.
As stated in the Max app’s privacy policy, the platform will collect data on:
- user devices
- IP address
- operating system
- browser
- location
- internet provider
- contacts from the address book
- all user activity within the service
- information obtained through the camera or microphone, if the user grants the app access (most users will, for example, in order to record voice messages)
Other messaging apps collect such data as well, but there’s a catch. The Max app’s privacy policy explicitly states that it may share this data with the “company’s partners” as well as with “any government or local authority.”
As Nikita Nazarov, CTO of the Russian IT company HFLabs, explained to the pro-government newspaper Argumenty i Fakty, “Popular messengers like Telegram and WhatsApp currently store data abroad, on foreign servers, whereas Max will keep everything in Russia. … If an anonymous channel publishes leaked personal data, it’s very difficult to trace its owners — but in this case, all users will be identified, just like on the Gosuslugi public services portal.”
It’s still unknown how many users Max managed to attract in its first few days. The app’s average rating in digital stores ranges from 4.2 to 4.7 out of five, with the Russian app market RuStore accounting for the lowest rating. Users ask: “It’s unclear how messaging security is ensured. Is there any encryption?” Still, some praise the connection and sound quality, which they say are “even better than in Telegram and WhatsApp.”
What’s in store for WhatsApp and Telegram
Experts believe the launch of Max could signify that the authorities are preparing for yet another attempt to block foreign messengers.
“I believe their main target is WhatsApp, which remains Russia’s most popular internet service, although it is owned by the American ‘extremist’ corporation Meta,” a journalist emphasized. “I assume that once they promote Max using public sector employees and state resources, they’ll start choking off WhatsApp with bans, forcing people to leave it.”
Mikhail Klimarev, Executive Director of the Internet Protection Society, stated that he also expects Telegram to be blocked — “very likely by the end of this year…because the new state policy is to ‘crush the competition.’”
Policies shaped with Max in mind
The legislative framework for the multiplatform service was prepared back in July 2024, when a bill titled “On the Creation of a Multifunctional Information Exchange Service” was submitted to the State Duma. In October 2024, the bill passed its first reading and was sent back for revisions. By late May 2025, work on the amendments was completed, and the second reading was scheduled for June 10.
“The service will eliminate the need for paper documents and allow identity verification using a digital ID — similar to the virtual loyalty cards we’re all used to,” Sergei Boyarsky, a co-author of the bill, announced on his Telegram channel.
Another co-author of the bill, Anton Gorelkin — an MP known for advocating censorship in the Russian cyberspace — stated that the government has yet to make the final decision about whether to use Max or to opt for a different messenger (mandatory conditions include domestic development and inclusion in the Russian software registry). However, investigative journalist Andrei Zakharov noted that the bill is “clearly written with Max in mind.”
VK already expanded its audience in much the same way: Putin’s associate Yuri Kovalchuk acquired the holding at the end of 2021, and a few months later, a law was passed requiring all government bodies to have social media pages, which were referred to as “state public accounts”. VK and Odnoklassniki, both part of VK Group, were chosen as the acceptable platforms for fulfilling the requirement.
How WeChat works in China
Here’s the English translation: WeChat, which Max was modeled after, has an estimated monthly audience of 1.3 billion active users worldwide. The vast majority of them are Chinese residents. WeChat has no true domestic competitors.
WeChat, like Max, combines a messenger, a social network, and a payment system, as well as a news aggregator, government services portal, and many other features. Users can order food, book tickets, make medical appointments, or even file for divorce without leaving the platform. The features are implemented through mini apps. As early as 2018, there were already over one million such mini apps.
As a result, WeChat has grown into a digital platform monopoly that tracks nearly every aspect of its users’ behavior. The service has been accused of censorship and surveillance, including monitoring diaspora communities abroad. Owned by Tencent, which closely cooperates with Chinese authorities, the app also censors content and spreads propaganda.