Following the App Store: The Max messenger has been removed from the Google Play Store
16 July 14:36
Russian users have noticed that “Mak,” the Russian state-run messaging app developed by VK, has disappeared from the Google Play Store. "Komersant Ukrainian" reports this, citing Russian propaganda media.
The messaging app, which had previously been labeled a spy app and removed from the App Store, is no longer available for download in Russia. Along with Makh, the VK app itself has disappeared from Google Play. The company and its services had previously been subject to EU sanctions.
“VK cooperated with Russian authorities in their repressive activities, including by handing over data on its users who posted content critical of the war against Ukraine,” the EU Council’s decision stated.
According to the rationale for the sanctions, the Makh messenger was developed under the control of the FSB and became a surveillance tool that collects data without the user’s knowledge.
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Apple removed Makh and its iPhone app store at the end of June, citing UK sanctions. In response, the Kremlin threatened to curtail “cooperation” with the American company, while the Federal Antimonopoly Service warned of a 4 billion ruble fine for “discriminating” against Russian search engines and refusing to allow the installation of domestic software on its devices.
Earlier this week, Google and Apple websites were suddenly blocked in Russia: they could not be accessed without a VPN for about three hours. And by all accounts, this was a test of their complete blocking in Russia using Roskomnadzor’s systems, experts wrote.
In late April, the hosting provider Cloudflare flagged the Max domain as “spyware,” but the flag was removed on May 1. According to the industry publication Tech Talk, Cloudflare had flagged the messenger as spyware based on nine out of ten URL checks and reported four security breaches.
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