Marina, a 45-year-old freelance copywriter, has relied on WhatsApp for her work and personal life for years. But one day last month that abruptly changed when a call to a colleague did not go through properly. They tried Telegram - another messaging app popular in Russia - but that did not work either. She was one of millions of Russians facing new restrictions imposed in mid-August by Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, on calls made through the two platforms - the country's most popular apps. The timing coincides with the rollout of a new national messenger app known as Max and created by a Russian firm closely controlled by the Kremlin. Monthly user numbers of WhatsApp and Telegram are estimated to be 97 and 90 million respectively — in a country of 143 million people. From parents' chats to tenants' groups, much of daily life runs through them. WhatsApp - whose owner, Meta, is designated an extremist organisation in Russia - is especially popular with older people because of how easy it is to register and use.
In some parts of Russia, particularly in remote and sparsely connected places in the Far East, WhatsApp is much more than chatting with friends and colleagues. Mobile browsing is sometimes painfully slow, so people use the app to coordinate local matters, order taxis, buy alcohol, and share news. Both apps offer end-to-end encryption which means that no third party, not even those who own them, are able to read messages or listen to calls. Officials say the apps refused to store Russian users' data in the country, as required by law, and they have claimed scammers exploit messaging apps. Yet Central Bank figures show most scams still happen over regular mobile networks. Telecom experts and many Russians see the crackdown as the government trying to keep an eye on who people talk to and potentially what they say.
The new Max app is being aggressively promoted by pop stars and bloggers, and since 1 September all devices sold in Russia must have Max pre-installed. It was launched by VK, which owns the country's largest social network of the same name. The Facebook-like platform is controlled by oil-and-gas giant Gazprom and one of Vladimir Putin's closest confidantes, billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk. Max is set to become a super-app, bringing together multiple functions, including government digital services and banking. The model mirrors China's WeChat - central to daily life but also a tool of censorship and surveillance. Max's privacy policy states it can pass information to third parties and government bodies, potentially giving access to the security services or making user data vulnerable to leaks.
By law, you can only buy a sim card with your national ID, and the security services have access to telecom operators' infrastructure. This means they can find out who you call as well as your whereabouts. From this month it is now illegal to share your sim card with anyone other than a close relative. The Kremlin’s long-standing discomfort with the internet’s freedoms is reflected in increasingly strict controls, including fines for accessing material deemed extremist.
Apart from their problems with WhatsApp and Telegram, many Russians are now getting used to life without mobile internet altogether, as entire cities face regular cut-offs. Since May, every Russian region has seen mobile internet go down. Blackouts surged through the summer, with up to 77 regions hit by shutdowns simultaneously.
The government is now working on a scheme that will allow Russians to access only vital online services during shutdowns, such as banking, taxis, deliveries - and the Max messenger. Critics warn that this could allow the authorities to utilize the app for more than just countering drones, potentially expanding their grip on digital communication and individual freedoms.
In some parts of Russia, particularly in remote and sparsely connected places in the Far East, WhatsApp is much more than chatting with friends and colleagues. Mobile browsing is sometimes painfully slow, so people use the app to coordinate local matters, order taxis, buy alcohol, and share news. Both apps offer end-to-end encryption which means that no third party, not even those who own them, are able to read messages or listen to calls. Officials say the apps refused to store Russian users' data in the country, as required by law, and they have claimed scammers exploit messaging apps. Yet Central Bank figures show most scams still happen over regular mobile networks. Telecom experts and many Russians see the crackdown as the government trying to keep an eye on who people talk to and potentially what they say.
The new Max app is being aggressively promoted by pop stars and bloggers, and since 1 September all devices sold in Russia must have Max pre-installed. It was launched by VK, which owns the country's largest social network of the same name. The Facebook-like platform is controlled by oil-and-gas giant Gazprom and one of Vladimir Putin's closest confidantes, billionaire Yuri Kovalchuk. Max is set to become a super-app, bringing together multiple functions, including government digital services and banking. The model mirrors China's WeChat - central to daily life but also a tool of censorship and surveillance. Max's privacy policy states it can pass information to third parties and government bodies, potentially giving access to the security services or making user data vulnerable to leaks.
By law, you can only buy a sim card with your national ID, and the security services have access to telecom operators' infrastructure. This means they can find out who you call as well as your whereabouts. From this month it is now illegal to share your sim card with anyone other than a close relative. The Kremlin’s long-standing discomfort with the internet’s freedoms is reflected in increasingly strict controls, including fines for accessing material deemed extremist.
Apart from their problems with WhatsApp and Telegram, many Russians are now getting used to life without mobile internet altogether, as entire cities face regular cut-offs. Since May, every Russian region has seen mobile internet go down. Blackouts surged through the summer, with up to 77 regions hit by shutdowns simultaneously.
The government is now working on a scheme that will allow Russians to access only vital online services during shutdowns, such as banking, taxis, deliveries - and the Max messenger. Critics warn that this could allow the authorities to utilize the app for more than just countering drones, potentially expanding their grip on digital communication and individual freedoms.
