THE NATIONAL UNION OF
JOURNALISTS OF UKRAINE
Max is establishing itself as a new messaging app in russia and the occupied territories of Ukraine. The app, accessible only with a russian or Belarusian phone number, blocks communication with free Ukraine and collects all user data, while also being an important vehicle for propaganda. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this digital surveillance tool that is locking the occupied territories of Ukraine in an information prison.
Over ten million downloads on Google Play, no less than twenty million on its russian equivalent RuStore: Max is breaking all records. According to pro-Kremlin media, the app had almost 50 million users six months after its launch in November 2025. But this stunning success is far from spontaneous. With the support of President Vladimir Putin, who has ordered the russian administration to accelerate its deployment, the app will be mandatory pre-installed on all phones sold in russia and in the occupied territories of Ukraine from September 1.
The messenger can also count on the support of pro-Kremlin propaganda media. The state-run media outlet Crimea 24 announced the launch of a channel on Max, praising the messenger’s qualities as a “tool for keeping up with the news.” The Crimean branch of the state-run news agency RIA Novosti has made the same strategic move, as have other Kremlin-controlled media outlets such as TASS and russia Today.
Even imposed on government institutions and schools, this “super app” is developed by russian tech giant Vkontakte (VK). This company already owns the social network of the same name and was owned by Alisher Usmanov, an oligarch known for his closeness to Vladimir Putin, before being acquired in 2021 by Gazprom, whose majority shareholder is the russian state. As it already moves to centralize a range of services — from personal correspondence and online payments to administrative procedures — the app is clearly designed to become indispensable in its users’ daily lives.
“The Kremlin’s strategy is clear: to make the Max messenger the backdrop to digital life in russia and in the occupied Ukrainian territories. With Max, the Kremlin has a powerful tool for projecting its propaganda in a centralized digital space. Behind this forced implementation is also the information isolation of Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories, cut off from the rest of free Ukraine,” says Vincent Berthier, RSF’s head of technology and journalism, and Pauline Maufrais, RSF’s regional manager for Ukraine. Only owners of russian or Belarusian SIM cards can connect to the app. This obstacle breaks the connection between Ukrainians living in the occupied territories, where the local population is forced to use russian numbers, and free Ukraine, which does not have access to Max. This is a serious problem for journalists who want to establish contacts in the occupied territories. The only way to continue communicating with other regions of Ukraine is to “have a phone without Max,” a source told RSF, who asked not to be named for security reasons.
This decision is also necessary to protect the privacy of Ukrainians in the occupied territories, as Max is hungry for users’ personal data. “Our sources know very well that their messages on Max are not encrypted and that russian intelligence services can read them,” warns Andrii Dikhtiarenko, the editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian media outlet Realna Hazeta in Luhansk, which moved to free Ukraine after the city was occupied in 2014. Faced with such extensive surveillance, the population is adapting, with some buying second-hand phones solely to use the app. Ironically, some local officials in the occupied territories are reluctant to install the app themselves, aware of the risks.
Max is gradually overshadowing WhatsApp and Telegram and has all the resources to finally gain a foothold in the market. In russia, WhatsApp, which has nearly 100 million users, has been added to a list of “unwanted software,” and access to both platforms is now restricted in almost 40% of regions, according to the independent russian media outlet The Moscow Times. This follows a decision by Roskomnadzor, russia’s telecommunications regulator, to block the two messengers, ostensibly to combat terrorism and other criminal activities.
Since July, the same deterioration in connectivity has been observed in the occupied territories of Ukraine. “I used to be able to call my sources via WhatsApp, but today the signal doesn’t go through,” confirms Andrii Dikhtiarenko. Telegram has also suffered:
“Sometimes you can’t hear anything at all,” reports another Ukrainian journalist, who asked not to be named for security reasons. Unlike its competitors’ degraded services, Max does not forget to report on call quality on the platform. Russian mobile operator Volna, one of the company’s main service providers based in Crimea, now offers a plan that includes unlimited access to several apps, including Max, a sign of the app’s rapid popularity.
According to Andrii Dikhtiarenko, this is a deliberate strategy “to encourage residents to switch to Max.” Now that it is the only functional app in the territories, some media outlets covering events there may consider signing up to receive information.
Max and Volna, which RSF contacted, did not respond to questions. Its inquiries to WhatsApp about the deterioration of service in russia also went unanswered.
Ukraine and russia rank 62nd and 171st, respectively, out of 180 countries and territories in RSF’s 2025 World Press Freedom Index.
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