WhatsApp is banned in Russia: Kremlin says everybody to use state-owned “Max” app

100 million users cut off as Kremlin demands migration to "National Messenger"; Telegram also faces throttling in massive "sovereign internet" push.

In the most aggressive move to date in its campaign for digital isolation, the Russian government officially began a nationwide block of WhatsApp on February 12, 2026. The move, confirmed by the Kremlin, effectively severs the country’s 100 million users from the Meta-owned platform, marking the end of the last major Western social service that had managed to escape the "extremist" ban of 2022.

The blackout is not just about censorship; it is a forced migration. At the heart of the crackdown is Max, a state-backed "super app" that the Kremlin is positioning as Russia’s answer to China’s WeChat.

The "Max" mandate: Surveillance by design?

The block coincided with a massive state media push for Max, which was officially designated as Russia’s "national messenger" in 2025.

Since late 2025, Max has been a mandatory pre-install on all smartphones sold in Russia. Public servants, teachers, and students are already required to use the platform for official communication.

Unlike WhatsApp’s end-to-end encryption, critics and rights groups warn that Max is built for surveillance. The app lacks true peer-to-peer encryption, and its integration with Gosuslugi (Russia’s digital government portal) gives authorities a direct window into user identities and behaviors.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov defended the move, describing Max as a "safe, accessible alternative" and stating that Meta’s "unwillingness to comply with the letter of Russian law" left the government with no choice.

The "16 KB Curtain" and DNS purge

The technical execution of the block has been described as a "phased strangulation" rather than a single switch:

• DNS Removal: On February 11, WhatsApp’s domain names were cleared from Russia's national register. This prevents devices inside the country from "finding" the app’s servers without a VPN.

• Throttling Telegram: WhatsApp isn't the only target. Telegram founder Pavel Durov confirmed that his app is also facing severe "throttling" and performance degradation, which he called a "made-up pretext" to force people onto the state-monitored Max app.

• The 16 KB Limit: Security researchers have noted a new tactic dubbed the "16 KB Curtain," where initial data loads for foreign apps are capped at 16 kilobytes - enough to see a notification, but not enough to load a message or image.

• Meta's response: "A backwards step"

  Meta, which has been designated an "extremist organization" in Russia since the start of the Ukraine conflict, released a defiant statement on X:

"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."

Despite the rhetoric, Peskov signaled that the block is permanent unless Meta "enters into dialogue" and agrees to store all Russian user data on local servers, a move Meta has historically refused on privacy grounds.

Life behind the firewall

For the average Russian citizen, the "splinternet" is becoming an unavoidable reality. Russians are once again flocking to VPNs, though the government has recently begun using AI-powered traffic filtering to identify and block popular VPN protocols in real-time.

Business owners who rely on WhatsApp for international trade have reported immediate disruptions, as moving professional networks to a state-run Russian app is a non-starter for foreign partners.