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Max (app)
Russian multi-purpose mobile app From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Max (stylized in all uppercase; Russian: Макс, [ˈmaks] MAKS) is a Russian messenger and E-commerce app released by VK in 2025. By analogy with the Chinese platform WeChat, a universal mobile application ("superapp") is being developed on the basis of Max, which allows, in addition to using the functions of the social network, to also receive electronic Gosuslugi, verify identity through a digital ID, use a strengthened electronic signature, and also make payments.[1] It has been promoted by the Russian government as a "national messenger".[2]
To register in the messenger, a valid Russian or Belarusian mobile phone number is required.[3] Registration with a virtual or substitute number is not possible.[4]
The messenger is managed by the "Communication Platform" LLC, which is a subsidiary of VK.[5] As of September 2025[update], the Max app has been pre-installed on all smartphones sold in Russia, while the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor is imposing restrictions on the use of other messenger applications.[6]
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History
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In May 2022, a VK messenger app was released, but struggled to gain audience. The country has long relied on foreign message software, making the provision of a viable alternative a key objective, even at the cost of affecting numerous users. A project also with commercial ambitions, a more user-friendly super application for Russian.[7][8]
In 2024, the VK company began developing a new messenger.[9] On 25 March 2025, VK representatives told Vedomosti about the development of a beta version of Max, outlining the messaging features, built-in payment systems for VTB Bank and Alfa-Bank and business tools for creating mini-apps and chatbots. The messenger was positioned to be independent from the VK app.[10][11][1] A beta build of the mobile app became available for download the following day.
On 4 June 2025, at a meeting between Vladimir Putin and members of the Russian Government, Minister of Digital Development Maksut Shadaev stated that Max is planned to be developed into an official national Russian messenger, similar to national messengers of other countries, naming Line (Japan), KakaoTalk (South Korea), Zalo (Vietnam) and WeChat (China) as examples.[12]
On 24 June 2025, the federal law "On the creation of a multifunctional information exchange service" was published, requiring Max to come pre-installed on officially released mobile devices in Russia after 1 September.[13][14] On 25 June, senator Olga Yepifanova announced that Gosuslugi is going to be integrated in Max.[15] In June, the VK company announced a bug bounty program with a 5,000,000 ₽ (~US$62,000) reward for reporting security exploits in the app.[16]
On 15 July 2025, the app was promoted by the Russian government as the "national messenger".[2]
On 30 July 2025, St. Petersburg State University are working on a unified digital ecosystem for the workplace, organises processes as it has the functionality of corporate mail with an integrated calendar and contacts, an audio conferences, meeting planning tools, task management, and a convenient cloud for storing files with support for online document editing.[17] As of September 2025[update], the Max app has been pre-installed on all smartphones sold in Russia, while the Russian communications regulator Roskomnadzor is imposing restrictions of the use of WhatsApp and Telegram.[6][18]
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Security and privacy issues
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The Max messenger, associated with VK and integrated with Russian government services such as Gosuslugi, has faced criticism over its handling of user data and choice of technical components. Reports indicate that the application collects and stores user metadata, including IP addresses, contact lists, and activity timestamps, with its privacy policy allowing potential transfer of this data to third parties, including state authorities. It has also been noted that the software incorporates multiple third-party open-source libraries originating from countries officially designated by Russia as "unfriendly", and that some telemetry traffic is directed to foreign servers.[19]
Security researchers have also documented social-engineering schemes targeting MAX users. In these cases, attackers impersonate technical support staff and offer “activation of protection” services, attempting to trick victims into revealing SMS verification codes. Such codes can then be used to gain unauthorized access to linked accounts on government service portals.[20]
Meanwhile, a joint hacking team formed by Ukraine and the United Kingdom also infiltrated this software in an attempt to extract critical information from it, or disrupt and interfere with transactions.[21]
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Number of users
In June 2025, the number of user accounts created in the Max messenger was 1 million.[22]
In July 2025, VK announced that the number of registered Max users had exceeded 2 million.[23]
In October 2025, VK announced that the number of registered Max users had exceeded 40 million. 500 million calls and 2 billion messages have been sent to date.[24] As of October 27 2025 there are 50 million registered users.[25]
Features
As of June 2025, Max features include personal and group chat, voice messaging, calls, video calling, transferring files up to 4 gigabytes, stickers, emoji, tools for creating chatbots and mini-apps, and a neural network called GigaChat.[4] The messenger has implemented the ability to transfer money between users via the Faster Payment System of the Bank of Russia.[26]
Technical details
Max messenger is written in Node.js, Kotlin, Swift, Objective-C, TypeScript, C++ and Java.[27][28] It works on the Windows, macOS, Android and iOS operating systems.[29] In addition to the mobile application, the messenger is available as a web application (web.max.ru) and a desktop client.[27]
According to research of the source code, the messenger borrows code fragments from the previous VK messenger TamTam.[30][31][32][33]
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References
External links
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