Russia moves to restrict foreign messaging apps on Putin’s order
Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed his government to develop new restrictions targeting foreign messaging apps and software from so-called "unfriendly countries," Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service reported on July 20.
Putin's directive, published by the Kremlin earlier this week, calls for limiting the use of foreign-made communication services and software in Russia.
It is part of a broader push to reduce dependence on technologies from nations deemed hostile by Moscow.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, WhatsApp, owned by Meta organization, is a likely target for blocking.
Russia declared Meta, the tech giant behind Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and WhatsApp, an "extremist organization" in 2022. WhatsApp is the company's only service that has not yet been blocked in Russia.
Last year, Russian Senator Artem Sheikin said that Russia may block WhatsApp in 2025 if the messenger's management does not comply with Russian laws.
The fate of the Telegram messenger app remains uncertain, Ukrainian intelligence said. Founded by Russian-born businessman Pavel Durov, Telegram denies any connections to Russian authorities or intelligence services, despite journalistic investigations claiming otherwise.
"(Russian) authorities have already created a new element of the centralized digital surveillance system — the Max messenger from VK," the intelligence's statement read.
All Russian officials have been ordered to switch to Max, an app that reportedly has full access to the microphone, camera, contacts, location, and files on a user's device.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the data is automatically transmitted to servers linked to Vkontake (VK) — a popular Russian social network that was created by Durov in 2006 and is now de facto controlled by Russian authorities.
