- Russia is considering prohibit WhatsApp
- The goal -owned application is the most popular messaging service in the country.
- Max, a national messaging application integrated with government services, will be installed on each new device from September 2025
It is possible that people in Russia soon need to find a replacement for WhatsApp, the most popular messaging application throughout the country.
Talking with PakGazette on Friday, July 18, 2025, the Deputy Director of the Information Technology Committee of the Russian Parliament, Anton Gorelkin, said that “it is time for WhatsApp to prepare to leave the Russian market,” and added that a goal has been designated as an extremist organization in Russia.
On Tuesday, July 22, Russia approved a law to punish online searches for the so -called ‘extremist’ content, while adding new sanctions to those who use VPN services.
How likely WhatsApp abandons Russia?
The Russian authorities have not shared any detail about how or when the WhatsApp prohibition will be applied.
That said, goal, the supplier behind WhatsApp, has already been designated as an extremist organization, with two of its other services (Facebook and Instagram) prohibited since 2022.
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also reiterated the fact that WhatsApp “has certain duties under the laws of the Russian Federation” that must be fulfilled, Interfax reported.
Two more governmental sources have confirmed to Meduza, a medium of Russian communication of independent media, which “there is a probability of 99 percent.” The WhatsApp block will happen.
The impending WhatsApp prohibition occurs when Kremlin is developing its own messaging application with integrated government services. As of September 2025, Max will be installed on each device sold in Russia, the Independent said.
Can a VPN help?
A virtual private network (VPN) figure user internet connections while falsifying its real IP address. The last ability is generally used to avoid this type of geographical internet block, something that Russian authorities have been trying to prevent for a long time.
From VPN locking tactics always sophisticated, which make many VPN services stop working, the Kremlin even criminalized the propagation of information on the ways of avoiding Internet restrictions in March 2024, which forced Apple’s tastes to eliminate some of the best VPN applications of its official application store.
Now, a new law further complicates things for VPN users. As of July 22, there are new sanctions for people looking for and access “extremist materials”, even when they do it while they are connected to a VPN.
In addition, legislators have also adopted a provision that makes the use of a VPN access to extremist content, something what WhatsApp can become, “a crime as an aggravating factor.”
