WhatsApp said the Russian government has moved to “fully block” the world’s most popular messaging service in the country as part of an effort to drive adoption of a new, state-sponsored app.
WhatsApp, owned by Meta Platforms Inc., said in a statement Wednesday that it was doing everything it could to keep its more than 100 million Russian users connected.
The announcement came after Russia removed the technical internet records that connect platforms such as WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook to their underlying IP addresses from the national system, according to local media reports. These records act like an address book for the internet, telling users’ devices where to find an app or website and, without them, the services can’t be reached from inside Russia other than through a virtual private network.
Russia previously restricted video and voice calls on WhatsApp in August, slowing down other functions that now work only via VPN.
The Kremlin has been pressing Russians to adopt a state-run “super-app” called Max, modeled after China’s WeChat. That’s as the government has choked off access to foreign messenger services, over which it has less control, since the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Critics of Max say it leaves users more vulnerable to surveillance by Russia’s security services.
In addition to messaging, Max hosts government services and enables document storage, banking and other public and commercial programs. State employees from officials to teachers have been told to use the app, while property management companies are now only permitted to communicate with residents through the service.
Telegram, another popular messaging app owned by Russian-born billionaire Pavel Durov, has also been hit by efforts to limit its access. Russia’s communications watchdog, Roskomnadzor, this week limited access to Telegram for failing to comply with Russian laws requiring personal data to be stored locally. Russia blocked voice and video calls via Telegram in August.
“Russia is restricting access to Telegram in an attempt to force its citizens to switch to a state-controlled app built for surveillance and political censorship,” Durov said in a statement on his platform. The service is still available via VPN.
Other Western messengers and services including Snap Inc.’s Snapchat, Apple Inc.’s FaceTime, Discord, Viber and Signal have all been blocked in Russia, opening up the market for Max.
–With assistance from Sarah Frier and Jake Rudnitsky.
(Updates with information on messengers from the third paragraph.)
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