Russian operators block SMS when registering on WhatsApp and Telegram

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The authorities demanded that Russian telecom operators stop transmitting SMS and calls to new users from the contractors of the Telegram and WhatsApp messengers when they try to register, the Durov Code publication reports, citing a source.

These measures may also affect already registered users, since re-authorization into an account often requires entering a code sent by SMS.

“The requirement applies to contractors sending SMS and calls with an authorization code - it is precisely the restriction of “transferring short text messages and stopping the establishment of voice connections” from them that is necessary to stop registering new Russian users,” writes Durov Code.

Telegram partially bypasses such measures of the Russian authorities: the messenger can send a code to a linked email, call from a Russian number and dictate the code by voice, or send an access code to other active sessions of the application.

Restrictions on sending SMS have not yet become widespread. MTS and MegaFon are still sending messages, while codes are not being sent to Beeline numbers.