Apple removes Russia's state-backed messenger from App Store
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MOSCOW: Apple has officially removed Russia's state-backed ‘Max’ messenger from its global App Store, according to statements released by the application's Russian developers.
The platform unexpectedly disappeared from the online appstore, though Apple has yet to comment publicly on the precise reasoning behind the enforcement action.
The removal interrupts a monthslong campaign by the Kremlin to force Russian citizens, civil servants, state corporations, schools, and government entities to migrate their communications to the homegrown app.
To drive adoption, Moscow has heavily throttled major western competitors including WhatsApp and Telegram, while mandating that Max come pre-installed on all mobile devices sold domestically.
Launched by social media giant VK, Max functions as an unencrypted super-app that stores data exclusively on domestic Russian servers. While previously installed versions continue to work on devices inside Russia, new users can no longer download the application, and existing users are locked out from receiving critical software updates.
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