The Ministry of Digital Development confirmed the voluntary use of MAX

On February 8, 2024, DOXA was added to the register of “undesirable organizations.”

If you are in Russia or planning to return to it, you cannot repost our materials on social networks, link to them or publish quotes.

Read more about what is and is not possible in the cards .

The Ministry of Digital Development has officially confirmed that the use of the MAX messenger is voluntary. This was found out by human rights activists from the project “At one’s own request” (PSG). Based on their petition, State Duma deputy from the Komi Republic Oleg Mikhailov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) drew up a request, which was sent to the Ministry of Digital Development through the Prosecutor General’s Office.

What does the Ministry of Digital Development's response say?

The agency stated that the use of MAX is voluntary, but educational institutions have the discretion to adopt local regulations on remote technologies. At the same time, the student or his parent has the right to write a refusal to use MAX.

In case of refusal to use the state messenger, the educational institution is obliged to provide an alternative way to obtain all information on the educational process.

Therefore, requiring educational institutions to install MAX is illegal.

“This creates an important precedent: under any pressure, you can rely on the official position of the Ministry of Digital Development and demand compliance with the law,” PSG writes.

Forced to use MAX

PSG writes that Mikhailov sent the request against the backdrop of massive coercion to install a national messenger in educational institutions. Thus, at the end of 2025, human rights activists received 105 appeals from colleges, universities, schools and kindergartens across the country about being forced to install MAX.

The University Platform Project writes that the transition to MAX will “further strengthen censorship in universities and control over students and teachers.” Based on requests from readers, the publication “Groza” found out that the management of more than ten large Russian universities is somehow forcing students to install MAX for educational communication. This happened after the Ministry of Education and Science sent universities a letter about the “introduction of a national messenger.”