Messenger Max will become mandatory for pre-installation on all new smartphones in Russia from September 1

At the same time, the FSB put forward a list of claims against him due to the risk of leaks

The state messenger Max from VK will become mandatory for pre-installation on all new smartphones in Russia from September 1. RIA Novosti writes about this with reference to Alexander Khaminsky, a lawyer and head of the law and order center in Moscow and the Moscow region.

“From September 1, 2025, the application will become mandatory for pre-installation on all new smartphones in Russia, as well as a channel for receiving documents for electronic signature. These provisions are enshrined in federal law,” he said.

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The FSB has put forward a list of claims against Max due to the risk of leaks

At the same time, as Khaminsky noted, the messenger is criticized for “causing possible risks to user privacy.” Max's policy allows for the transfer of user personal data to authorities, but end-to-end encryption has not yet been implemented. “The communication channel protection is used, which leaves the data vulnerable on the servers,” the lawyer said.

As journalist Farida Rustamova (Faridaily) writes , following a meeting of the presidium of the government commission on digital development, the FSB put forward a list of claims against Max. At the meeting, the connection of the messenger to the Unified System of Identification and Authentication (USIA) was discussed, and, according to the intelligence service, it cannot yet be connected to government services due to the risk of personal data leaks.

One of Rustamova’s sources, familiar with the situation, said that the FSB’s claims were written out on several pages. Among them are requirements to create a threat model that ensures the security of users’ personal data, as well as to conclude agreements with licensees of the Federal Service for Technical and Export Control and the FSB itself to conduct an audit.

Another interlocutor of the journalist noted that such requirements apply to most systems connected to the unified identification and authentication system. “For example, if personal data from the unified identification and authentication system is transferred to some system, if it leaks, this will become a problem for government services. Therefore, depending on where and what data you connect to, you have your own information security requirements. Max looks super sensitive, so there is a request right up to analysis and provision of source codes for verification,” he explained.

Rustamova’s source, close to VK, claims that “most of the claims will be closed.”

Authorities claim that “information activity” around the Max is driven by competitors’ fear of “losing the market.”

The State Duma responded to a publication about the FSB's claims against Max. Deputy Chairman of the State Duma IT Committee Anton Gorelkin wrote that government services will be integrated into the messenger in a few weeks, and the “information activity” around it is built on “replication of fake news and far-fetched claims” and is caused by competitors’ fear of “losing the market.”

“All the necessary departmental permits were received two months ago. <…> The developers say that by now the integration is almost complete and fully meets all the security requirements that apply to the operation of government information systems,” writes Gorelkin.

Parent and school group chats on WhatsApp are going to be transferred to Max, along with the entire Sferum school infrastructure system, Vorstka has found out. WhatsApp, in turn, “with a very high degree of probability will be included in the list of software from unfriendly countries that is subject to restrictions,” Gorelkin said. Read more about how legal it will be to use the messenger after blocking and whether there are any chances to bypass it, read on our website.

Photo: Max messenger. IMAGO/Hanno Bode via Reuters Connect

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