Messenger Max was removed from the AppStore

The Max messenger (owned by VK) has been removed from the AppStore . When you try to follow a link from the “national messenger” website, an error is displayed. The messenger is also not searched for in the store.

Max representatives said they did not know the reason for the removal and that they had asked the AppStore for clarification.

Max messenger began to be developed in 2022 by the Internet holding VK ( formerly Mail.ru), which is headed by Vladimir Kiriyenko, the son of Putin’s deputy chief of staff, Sergei Kiriyenko.

Last summer, the State Duma adopted a law on a “national” messenger that will aggregate the data of Russians from government databases and through which Russians will be able to receive government services, confirm their identity and make payments. They decided to develop it on the Max platform. According to the creators, it should become an analogue of the Chinese WeChat .

The Russian authorities rather began a campaign to promote Max : it was also required to be pre-installed on phones and tablets and implemented in various areas - from integration with Gosuslugi to transferring home chats there. This coincided with the blocking of WhatsApp and Telegram messengers that began in the summer of 2025. “Mediazona” spoke in detail about security problems in the messenger and what to do if you are forced to install it.