Marina, a 45-year-old freelance copywriter, has relied on WhatsApp for her work and personal life for years. But one day last month that abruptly changed when a call to a colleague did not go through properly. They tried Telegram — another messaging app popular in Russia — but that did not work either.
She was one of millions of Russians facing new restrictions imposed in mid-August by Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, on calls made through the two platforms — the country's most popular apps.
The timing coincides with the rollout of a new national messenger app known as Max and created by a Russian firm closely controlled by the Kremlin. Monthly user numbers of WhatsApp and Telegram are estimated to be 97 and 90 million respectively — in a country of 143 million people.
From parents' chats to tenants' groups, much of daily life runs through them. WhatsApp — whose owner, Meta, is designated an extremist organisation in Russia — is especially popular with older people because of how easy it is to register and use.
In some parts of Russia, particularly in remote and sparsely connected places in the Far East, WhatsApp is much more than chatting with friends and colleagues. Mobile browsing is sometimes painfully slow, so people use the app to coordinate local matters, order taxis, buy alcohol, and share news.
Both apps offer end-to-end encryption which means that no third party, not even those who own them, are able to read messages or listen to calls. Officials say the apps refused to store Russian users' data in the country, as required by law, and they have claimed scammers exploit messaging apps.
Yet Central Bank figures show most scams still happen over regular mobile networks. Telecom experts and many Russians see the crackdown as the government trying to keep an eye on who people talk to and potentially what they say.
Marina worries that speaking to foreign media can be dangerous. The authorities don't want us, ordinary people, to maintain any kind of relationships, connections, friendships or mutual support. They want everyone to sit quietly in their own corner, she says.
The new Max app is being aggressively promoted by pop stars and bloggers, and since 1 September, all devices sold in Russia must have Max pre-installed. It was launched by VK, who owns the country's largest social network of the same name, controlled by an oil-and-gas giant and one of Vladimir Putin's closest confidantes.
Max is set to become a super-app, bringing together multiple functions, including government digital services and banking, mirroring China's WeChat model. Its privacy policy raises concerns, stating it can pass information to third parties and government bodies.
Schools are now obliged to move parent chats to the app. In Rostov region, which borders Ukraine, Max is being adopted as an alert system; in St Petersburg, it is being tied to emergency services. Despite the push, Max remains far behind its rivals, with only 30 million users claimed.
Aside from their problems with WhatsApp and Telegram, many Russians are now getting used to life without mobile internet altogether, as entire cities face regular cut-offs. Internet blackouts surged through the summer, peaking with up to 77 regions affected simultaneously. Authorities justify these measures as necessary to protect from potential attacks but many experts express skepticism about their effectiveness.
Russians who are wary of installing the new super-app still find ways around it. Many prefer to use regular networks or alternative communication methods, although as government control expands, these options may diminish.
