Apple Removes Russian State-Backed Max Messenger From App Store Amid Spyware Questions

Apple removed the Russian state-backed messenger Max from its App Store, cutting off new downloads of the Kremlin-promoted application, according to The Moscow Times on June 3.

VK , the developer of the state-controlled service, confirmed the removal on Wednesday evening.

"MAX confirms that the messenger application is currently unavailable in the App Store," the company stated. "The application previously installed on users' phones will continue to operate as usual."

The developers requested clarification from the American company and indicated they were working on a prompt resolution. They advised users to download the client from other app stores or the official Max website.

In late April, the hosting provider Cloudflare labeled the Max domain as spyware, though the designation was lifted on May 1.

Read more

Category

Anti-Fake

Digital Gulag: Russia Forces Its Spy App on Every New Phone

Aug 15, 2025 19:22

Cloudflare  based the marking on nine of ten URL checks and four reported security flaws, the technology outlet Tech Talk noted. Max's press service attributed the flag to a misreading of request headers sent to ordinary web analytics services.

The removal of a second VK-connected service points to mounting friction between Apple and Russia's state-aligned tech sector. In early April, Apple pulled Telega, a clone of Pavel Durov's Telegram routed through VK infrastructure, after Cloudflare flagged two of its domains as spyware and then withdrew the label following the developers' complaint.

Suspicion of Max as a surveillance instrument predates the App Store removal. Independent technical analysis of the application's code earlier documented more than a dozen hidden mechanisms, including remote microphone recording, contact-list harvesting, VPN detection, and the silent deletion of messages from users' phones.

Max has been preinstalled on every new smartphone sold in Russia since September 2025 and promoted as a sovereign alternative after WhatsApp was blocked in February 2026.

Protect Ukrainian Skies

Subscribe to Sky Defense