The rollout has raised concerns among critics and digital rights groups that Moscow will use Max to surveil its citizens and further cut digital links to the West. It is not officially mandatory, but the authorities are making it clear that life without Max will become increasingly hard. President Vladimir Putin has touted it as a more "secure" platform that meets Russia's demand for "technological sovereignty." 'Being watched'The launch of Max comes years into Russia's political and technological campaign to develop a "sovereign internet", less reliant on -- and vulnerable to -- foreign services. Unlike Telegram and Whatsapp, Max does not use end-to-end encryption and its terms of use state that user data is stored exclusively on services in Russia.

Source: Bangkok Post March 23, 2026 10:12 UTC