Russia moves to block WhatsApp in messaging app crackdown

Russia has "attempted to fully block" WhatsApp in the country, the company said, as the Kremlin continues to tighten restrictions on messaging apps.

Meta-owned WhatsApp said the move aimed to push more than 100 million of its app users in Russia to a "state-owned surveillance app".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Meta could resume operations if it "complies with [the law] and enters into dialogue", but stood "no chance" if it refused.

Russian internet regulator Roskomnadzor said earlier this week it was further curbing access to messaging app Telegram as well, citing a lack of security. Telegram is highly popular in Russia and widely used by its forces in Ukraine.

Pro-war bloggers have complained that the move was hampering communications on the ground.

Russia has argued that both WhatsApp and Telegram have refused to store Russian users' data in the country as required by law.

WhatsApp said it was doing everything it could to keep people connected.

"Trying 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," it said in a statement.

State-run news agency Tass reported earlier this year that WhatsApp was expected to be permanently blocked in the country in 2026.

"Such harsh measures" are "absolutely justified" since Russia has designated Meta as an extremist organisation, Andrei Svintsov, a Russian official, was quoted as saying.

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

Digital rights project Na Svyazi (In Touch) has reported that Russia has increasingly been removing websites from the state-run internet address directory, which is controlled by Roskomnadzor.

It said that 13 popular resources were now missing from the National System of Domain Names (NSDI), including YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp web, Instagram, the BBC and Deutsche Welle. Once an entry is removed, the site does not open without a virtual private network (VPN).

The app has been likened to China's WeChat - a so-called "super app" that combines messaging and government services.

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.

Telegram's chief executive, Russian-born businessman Pavel Durov, said the state was restricting access to its service in an attempt to force its people to use its own app for surveillance and political censorship.

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.

"Restricting citizens' freedom is never the right answer," said Durov.