WhatsApp Says 100 Million Users in Russia Won’t Have Access to Privacy Features
In a post on X, the instant messaging service claims that Russia, on Thursday, attempted to “fully block” WhatsApp in the country. The tech firm alleges that the government’s decision came as part of its efforts to push adoption of its state-owned messaging platform, known as Max. The Russian government has yet to announce an official ban on WhatsApp.
The company says more than 100 million WhatsApp users in the country, won’t have access to privacy and security features touted by the Meta-owned platform. WhatsApp added that the latest decision would lead to Russian residents using less secure means of communications online. “We continue to do everything we can to keep users connected,” WhatsApp said.
This is not the first time that the Russian government has attempted to block WhatsApp’s services in the country. Amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions, Russian lawmakers have been calling for a ban on social media platforms and other online communication services that are not based in Russia.
In August 2025, a report highlighted that Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, had imposed a partial ban on WhatsApp and Telegram’s voice calling services. The regulator reportedly claimed that the decision was made as part of its efforts to curb crimes committed through these foreign platforms. However, other functionalities of the two “foreign messengers” remained unaffected.
The Russian regulator said that the law enforcement agencies in the country had reportedly complained that the voice calling services of WhatsApp and Telegram, based in the US and UAE, respectively, were being used to deceive and extort money from Russians, while also enabling terrorist activities against the state.
Roskomnadzor reportedly made repeated requests to WhatsApp and Telegram to take countermeasures against bad actors. However, these requests were ignored, the regulator claimed. While the restriction was in place across Russia, Russian residents were able to bypass the partial ban with the help of VPN services.
