In Ukraine’s occupied territories, the Kremlin’s messaging app Max is building a digital Iron Curtain
Max is rapidly becoming the most used messaging app in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories. Only accessible via a Russian or Belarusian phone number, the app blocks communication with free Ukraine and harvests 100 per cent of user data, all while serving as a major vehicle for propaganda. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) condemns this tool for digital control that isolates citizens in the occupied territories from reliable information.
With more than ten million downloads on Google Play and at least twenty million on the Russian equivalent RuStor, Max is breaking all records. In November 2025 — more than eight months after its launch — the app reportedly had nearly 50 million users according to pro-Kremlin outlets. But its meteoric rise is anything but organic — the app is backed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, who ordered his administration to accelerate its rollout. As a result, the app has become mandatory and has been pre-installed on all phones sold in Russia and the occupied Ukrainian territories since 1 September 2025.
The messaging app also counts on strong support from pro-Kremlin propaganda outlets. The state-run media outlet Krym 24 announced it had opened a channel on Max, praising it as a way to “stay up to date with the news.” The same strategic move has been made by the Crimean branch of the state press agency Ria Novosti, as well as other Kremlin-controlled media outlets such as TASS and Russia Today.
Imposed in public services and schools, this “super-app” is being developed by the Russian tech giant Vkontakte (VK), a company that already owns an eponymous social network that used to belong to Alisher Usmanov — an oligarch reportedly close to Vladimir Putin — before becoming the property of Gazprom*, which is majority-owned by the Russian state, in 2021. As the app aims to centralise a range of services — from personal communication to online payments and administrative procedures — the app is clearly designed to be indispensable for everyday life.
“The Kremlin’s strategy is clear: to make the Max messaging app the backbone of online life in Russia and in the occupied Ukrainian territories. Max gives the Kremlin a powerful tool for spreading its propaganda in a centralised digital space. This forced adoption also creates an information blackout for Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories, cut off from free Ukraine.
Communication cut off between free Ukraine and the occupied territories
Only users with a Russian or Belarusian SIM card can use the app. This barrier cuts off communication between Ukrainians living in the occupied territories — where residents are forced to use Russian numbers — and free Ukraine, where people do not have access to Max. This poses a major problem for journalists trying to reach contacts in these areas. “The only way to keep communicating with other Ukrainian regions is to have a phone without Max,” a source told RSF on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
This workaround is also necessary to protect the privacy of Ukrainians living in occupied territories because Max is an avid collector of personal data. “Our sources know very well that their messages are not encrypted on Max and that Russian security services can read them,” warns Andrii Dikhtiarenko, editor-in-chief of the Ukrainian outlet Realna Gazeta from Luhansk, who relocated to free Ukraine after the city’s occupation in 2014. Faced with widespread surveillance, some residents adapt by buying a second-hand phone solely for using the app. Ironically, even some local officials in the occupied territories reportedly hesitate to install it, as they are aware of the risks.
Replacing WhatsApp and Telegram
Max is gradually eclipsing WhatsApp and Telegram, and has everything it takes to establish itself as the definitive leader. In Russia, WhatsApp — which is nearly 100 million users strong — has been placed on a list of “undesirable software,” and access to both apps is now restricted in nearly 40 per cent of regions, according to the independent Russian media outlet The Moscow Times. This follows Roskomnadzor, the Russian telecom regulator, to disrupt the functioning of both platforms, officially to “fight terrorism and criminal activity.”
Since July, the same decline in communication services has also been observed in the occupied territories. “I used to call my sources on WhatsApp, but now the signal doesn’t work,” explains Andrii Dikhtiarenko. Telegram has also been affected: “Sometimes you can’t hear anything at all,” reports another Ukrainian journalist, granted anonymity for safety. In stark contrast with these disruptions, Max markets itself on the quality of its calls. The Russian telecom operator Volna — one of the main providers in occupied Crimea — now offers a package with unlimited access to several apps, including Max, proof of the app’s forced popularisation. For Andrii Dikhtiarenko, all of this is part of a deliberate strategy to “strongly encourage residents to migrate to Max.” As it becomes the only reliable app in these areas, some media outlets covering the occupied territories may be obliged to use it in order to keep receiving information from local sources.
*Correction: Since 2021, Vkontakte (VK) has been owned by the company Gazprom, not Alisher Usmanov, as previously stated.
