1 month ago
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Russia just took WhatsApp offline for good. On Wednesday, internet regulator Roskomnadzor deleted the app from its official registry.
That one action made WhatsApp vanish from the country’s digital space. It had more than 100 million users in Russia. Now it’s gone. Unless someone’s got a VPN and time to waste, they’re stuck.
According to Dmitry Medve, Russia had been slowly breaking the app for months, starting last summer when voice calls were cut.
Then it got slower and harder to use. By December, usage dropped by 70 to 80 percent. Wednesday’s takedown wasn’t a surprise. It was just the final blow.
Meta’s apps wiped as Russia pushes users to Max
The ban on WhatsApp came with others. Russia also took out Facebook and Instagram from the same registry. Both were already labeled as “extremist.”
You can still use them, but only through a VPN. YouTube hasn’t been fully banned yet, but it’s clearly being messed with. Pages take forever to load.
The real reason behind all this is Max, the new messaging app Russia is pushing on everyone. Max was named the country’s “national messenger” last year, and it’s owned by VKontakte, which is Russia’s biggest social media company. VKontakte is controlled by people close to President Vladimir Putin. Max has no encryption. Everything is wide open. The government can read anything sent on the platform.
A Meta spokesperson said:-
“Today the Russian government attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive people to a state-owned surveillance app. Trying to isolate over 100 million users from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia. We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.”
Telegram throttled as criticism grows at home
WhatsApp wasn’t the only app targeted. Russia also started messing with Telegram this week. Telegram is even more popular than WhatsApp in Russia, especially for news and entertainment. Its founder, Pavel Durov, who’s also Russian, responded quickly.
“Restricting citizens’ freedom is never the right answer,” Pavel said. “Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privacy, no matter the pressure.”
Russia’s crackdown on Telegram is blowing up in its face. Even people inside the government are mad. Telegram is used by Russian troops and civilians near Ukraine. They rely on it for warnings about drone and missile attacks.
The government wanted people to quietly switch to Max, but that didn’t happen.
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