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WhatsApp, the messaging app owned by social media giant Meta, has accused Russia of attempting to block access for millions of its users to push them towards its state-owned alternative.
“Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backward step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia. We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected,” the company said in an X post on Wednesday.
Moscow’s state-backed platform Max was launched in March 2025 by Russian tech firm VK as a domestic alternative to foreign-owned services such as WhatsApp and Telegram.
The government has since been promoting it heavily, making it mandatory for all smartphones sold in the country starting Sept. 1 to have Max pre-installed.
SEO firm Backlinko estimates that Russia has the fourth-largest active monthly WhatsApp user base, with 72 million users, behind Indonesia, Brazil, and India.
Russian media reports claim WhatsApp is inaccessible
Gazeta.ru, a Russian online news website based in Moscow, reported Wednesday that WhatsApp’s domain had been completely blocked, making it inaccessible without a VPN or similar workaround.
The outlet also reported, citing state-owned news agency TASS, that presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said unblocking WhatsApp in Russia would require the messaging service to follow Russian laws and show a willingness to negotiate.
Cointelegraph has contacted WhatsApp and Russia’s telecom regulator Roskomnadzor for comment.
Last year, Moscow began limiting some calls on WhatsApp and Telegram, accusing the platforms of failing to share information with law enforcement and of not storing Russian user data in the country.
In January, Andrey Svintsov, a deputy of the State Duma, the lower house of Russia’s national legislature, told TASS that the country’s telecom regulator would adopt measures to completely block WhatsApp by the end of 2026.
Other countries restricting messaging services
Other countries have reportedly used communication restrictions in times of conflict.
In December, Ugandan politician and opposition leader Bobi Wine encouraged his supporters to download Jack Dorsey’s decentralized peer-to-peer messaging service Bitchat and accused the government of planning to cut communications in the lead-up to the election.
Related: Afghanistan internet blackout ’a wake-up call’ for blockchain decentralization
Meanwhile, in September, the African island nation of Madagascar experienced a spike in Bitchat downloads amid protests and communication disruptions, following a similar uptick during unrest in Nepal and Indonesia earlier that same month.
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