While Russian soldiers continue their aggression in Ukraine and try to gain a foothold in the Donbass, Moscow is trying its hand on another front, offering a communication app that also serves as a platform for spying on citizens, writes Politico.
Moscow has taken an example from China and is encouraging Russian citizens to use the Max app for communication, which gives the government full access to user data while isolating them from the rest of the Internet. The app is being compared to China’s WeChat, both of which are not encrypted, and the privacy policy allows authorities to freely access the history of correspondence, photos in correspondence and even the user’s location.
Mikhail Klimarev, the head of the Russian Internet Protection Society, said that the developers of the app are effectively indicating that they will return absolutely all user data without objection.
To sign up for the Max app, you need a valid Russian or Belarusian phone number, which in turn requires the use of a personal code, meaning that all data can be traced back to a specific user. Klimarev added that everything done on the app will be available to the Russian security service (FSB).
In early September, Max said the
app’s user base had grown from one million in June to almost 30 million in September.
That’s still far fewer than the most popular messaging apps, WhatsApp and Telegram, but Max has a strong backer: the state.
Max was created quite recently. It was only in June that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the development of a state-owned messaging app. It was entrusted to VK, which is in turn controlled by state-owned Gazprom.
Starting in September, the app will be installed by default on all phones sold in Russia. Meanwhile, Russia’s telecommunications agency Roskomnadzor began blocking WhatsApp and Telegram calls this summer. While the government said it was done to protect users from fraudsters and terrorists, WhatsApp’s parent company, Meta, condemned it as an attempt to violate people’s right to privacy.
Independent media outlets have reported that
public servants, bank employees and hospital staff have faced pressure to use Max.
Officials have been touting the app as reliable and secure. Although the app is still in development, it is being touted as a tool that could eventually include government, banking and commercial services, like WeChat.
Max is one of Putin’s latest attempts to control the internet. In 2019, the Russian dictator signed a law to create a “sovereign internet” that would be protected from foreign influence. Since its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kremlin has been trying to crack down on anti-war online activity, with hundreds of criminal cases filed. Thousands of websites have been blocked, searching for certain content on the Internet is criminalized, and advertising VPNs is now punishable.
Since the app requires a Russian or Belarusian phone number, it is difficult to obtain one outside of Russia, making it difficult to contact relatives and obtain information from abroad. The government thus controls and restricts internal communication.
True, the launch of Max has not been smooth.
Even Russian military bloggers have criticized the app.
According to the independent media outlet Meduza, government officials are also avoiding the app.
Maksim, a 27-year-old teacher, said he would not install Max, and criticized the restrictions on WhatsApp and Telegram. “It’s an attempt by the government to limit our ability to write and communicate with each other. I already can’t call abroad in a simple way like I used to,” he said.
Nikolai Petrov, a senior analyst at the Center for New Eurasian Strategy in London, said the Kremlin’s current push for digital control is linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s efforts to bring peace to Ukraine. He said it is crucial for Putin to silence any protests from across the political spectrum, including ultranationalists for whom the only acceptable solution to the war would be the complete surrender of Ukraine. However, like other independent Russian analysts, Petrov admits that there is no real interest in achieving peace. “Max,” like other similar measures, is aimed at complete control of the situation regardless of the final outcome.
Until recently, it seemed impossible that a fully controlled, Chinese-style internet would be introduced in Russia. Now it has become a reality.
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