WhatsApp, which is owned by Meta, stated Wednesday that Russian officials have blocked the messaging app nationwide. The company believes this is an attempt to push users to a government-supported substitute.
WhatsApp posted on X that the Russian government is trying to completely cut off access to the app to drive people to what it calls a state-owned surveillance app. They added that keeping millions of users from private and secure ways to talk would make them less safe.
A WhatsApp spokesperson repeated this, saying the move seemed aimed at getting users to switch to a rival service backed by the government. The company didn’t share tech information about how the block was done or how far it had reached when they announced it.
With around 100 million users in Russia and almost three billion across the globe each month, WhatsApp is still a very common way to chat in the country. Any limits on using it could affect personal talks, business and getting to information.
This happens after news that Russian officials took WhatsApp off an online list managed by Roskomnadzor, the communications regulator. These actions are often seen as a heads-up that tighter controls may be coming.
State news agency TASS had reported earlier that the service might face a permanent ban in 2026, though officials haven’t officially confirmed any dates.
Russian officials have long said that foreign tech companies must follow local laws. These include storing user data in the country and helping law enforcement when asked. Roskomnadzor keeps pushing WhatsApp to get its actions to meet these rules, saying the company and other platforms haven’t fully helped.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said getting things back to normal would depend on if Meta wants to talk with officials and meet legal needs. He said that if the company talks and follows the law, there’s a chance they can reach an agreement. But if it still doesn’t want to follow Russian law, there won’t be much progress.
Russian lawmaker Andrei Svintsov gave reasons for strict action, saying these steps were right after Russia called Meta an extremist group in 2022. After that decision, Facebook and Instagram were blocked and have mostly been accessed through VPNs since then.
The main thing is MAX, a local app promoted by the Kremlin as a substitute for foreign messaging services. Officials have called it a platform that can do many things.
They say it might combine chats with different online services. But critics and rights groups wonder if it keeps user data safe enough, noting that it doesn’t offer end-to-end encryption. State media say the platform isn’t meant for watching users.
Officials have moved fast to get more people to use MAX. Since last year, the app has had to be installed on new devices sold in Russia. Also, public workers, teachers and students have reportedly been told to use it. Estimates say the service already has tens of millions of users.
The pressure on WhatsApp happens after regulators announced limits on Telegram in stages. Telegram is another major messaging platform in Russia.
Users have said they’re seeing slower speeds and trouble downloading media. Telegram founder Pavel Durov spoke out against the move, saying that limiting people’s freedom is never the right answer. He added that the company would keep defending user privacy.
Russia has tightened control over the online world in recent years. They say stronger control is needed for security and to enforce national law. Critics say the steps are part of a larger plan to limit disagreement and lower reliance on Western tech firms.
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Until now, WhatsApp was still available even after Facebook and Instagram were blocked. So, this latest move is a big moment in the connection between Moscow and one of the country’s most-used online services.
If limits get worse on both WhatsApp and Telegram, many users might switch to government-supported platforms. At the same time, past experiences show that many will keep using VPNs and other tools to reach foreign services even with official limits in place.
