{"id":130800,"date":"2026-02-12T09:02:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/russia-moves-to-block-whatsapp-in-messaging-app-crackdown\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T09:02:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T09:02:53","slug":"russia-moves-to-block-whatsapp-in-messaging-app-crackdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/russia-moves-to-block-whatsapp-in-messaging-app-crackdown\/","title":{"rendered":"Russia moves to block WhatsApp in messaging app crackdown"},"content":{"rendered":"

Russia has \u201cattempted to fully block\u201d WhatsApp in the country, the company said, as the Kremlin continues to tighten restrictions on messaging apps.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meta-owned WhatsApp said the move aims to push more than 100 million of its app users in Russia to a \u201cstate-owned surveillance app\u201d.<\/p>\n

This comes after Russian regulators further curbed access to Telegram, citing a lack of security. Telegram is estimated to have as many users as WhatsApp in Russia.<\/p>\n

The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying 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,\u201d said WhatsApp in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe continue to do everything we can to keep users connected.\u201d<\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s communications regulator, the Roskomnadzor, has made repeated warnings to WhatsApp to comply with local law.<\/p>\n

State-owned Tass Media reported earlier this year that WhatsApp is expected to be permanently blocked in the country in 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cSuch harsh measures\u201d are \u201cabsolutely justified\u201d since Russia has designated Meta as an extremist organisation, Andrei Svintsov, a Russian official, was quoted as saying.<\/p>\n

Since that designation in 2022, Meta apps like Instagram and Facebook have been blocked in Russia and are only accessible through virtual private networks.<\/p>\n

Moscow has made extensive efforts to push Russians to a state-developed communications platform called Max.<\/p>\n

The app has been likened to China\u2019s WeChat \u2013 a so-called \u201csuper app\u201d that combines messaging and government services, but without encryption.<\/p>\n

Russia has argued that both WhatsApp and Telegram have refused to store Russian users\u2019 data in the country as required by law.<\/p>\n

Since 2025, the authorities have mandated that the Max app be pre-installed on all new devices sold in the country. Public sector employees, teachers and students have been required to use the platform.<\/p>\n

Telegram\u2019s chief executive, Russian-born businessman Pavel Durov, said the state is restricting access to its service in an attempt to force its people to use its own app for surveillance and political censorship.<\/p>\n

Iran has tried a similar strategy to ban Telegram and push its people to a state-run alternative, but citizens have found ways to work around this, he wrote online.<\/p>\n

\u201cRestricting citizens\u2019 freedom is never the right answer,\u201d said Durov.<\/p>\n

The post Russia moves to block WhatsApp in messaging app crackdown<\/a> appeared first on KBC Digital<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Russia has \u201cattempted to fully block\u201d WhatsApp in the country, the company said, as the Kremlin continues to tighten restrictions on messaging apps. Meta-owned WhatsApp said the move aims to push more than 100 million of its app users in Russia to a \u201cstate-owned surveillance app\u201d. This comes after Russian regulators further curbed access to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-130800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=130800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/130800\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=130800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=130800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=130800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}