‘I don’t trust it’: Russians sceptical about state-backed messenger MAX
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Rights advocates warn that MAX – which lacks end-to-end encryption – could be used as a powerful surveillance tool.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Follow topic:
- Russia promotes MAX as a secure "super app" to replace WhatsApp and Telegram, directing manufacturers to pre-install it on new devices.
- Critics worry MAX lacks encryption, potentially enabling surveillance, while officials claim it cuts reliance on foreign platforms.
- Roskomnadzor considers banning WhatsApp, alleging "crime," while users express mixed feelings about switching due to convenience and security fears.
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MOSCOW - A new Russian messaging platform that authorities hope will replace WhatsApp and Telegram is getting rave reviews from government officials, but on the streets of Moscow, reception has been mixed.
MAX, released by Russian social media giant VK earlier this year, has been touted as a “super app” – capable of doing everything from accessing government services to ordering a pizza, similar to China’s WeChat or Alipay.
The government directed manufacturers to include it on all new phones and tablets starting Sept 1, while simultaneously blocking calls on its foreign-owned rivals, in what critics have called a brazen attempt to force users to switch.
Officials insist MAX is safe and will cut Russia’s dependence on foreign-owned platforms that store data abroad, but rights advocates warn the app – which lacks end-to-end encryption – could be used as a powerful surveillance tool.
“I don’t trust it much,” said Ekaterina, a 39-year-old doctor who refused to give her last name.
Her employer required her to install the application for work, but she mainly uses WhatsApp for personal communication, she said.
“There’s a personal history of messages that I don’t want to lose, as well as work-related communication,” she said of WhatsApp.
“I have many clients on it.”
‘I don’t see a problem’
Russians may not have much of a choice.
On Nov 28, media regulator Roskomnadzor announced it was considering fully banning WhatsApp,
It had already blocked calls on the platform from August 2025.
WhatsApp, which boasts almost 100 million users in the country, accused Russia of wanting to ban it because it is “secure”.
“The situation is mixed,” 33-year-old Mr Andrei Ivanov told AFP.
He said he feared information from WhatsApp could be “stolen by other countries”, but that it was “convenient to communicate there”.
“It is a certain restriction of our freedoms,” Mr Ivanov said, of the plans to strong-arm users into switching.
WhatsApp has accused Russia of wanting to ban it because it is “secure”.
PHOTO: REUTERS
WhatsApp, owned by US technology giant Meta, uses end-to-end encryption. This means messages are scrambled when they leave the sender’s device and can only be read by the recipient.
The platform says it uses Meta’s servers to store encrypted messages while they are being delivered but deletes them once this is done, and has refused to hand them over to governments.
Some in Moscow were unconvinced, nonetheless.
“I understand that everything created abroad is now a threat to us,” said Russian pensioner Sergei Abramov, 67.
He said he saw no “big problem” if WhatsApp got shut down.
Ms Maria Isakova, a 36-year-old designer, agreed.
“Our nation is inherently good at adapting to changing circumstances. We adapt – there are other messengers, there are alternatives to switch to,” she said.
“I don’t see any issues.” AFP
