this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2025
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[–] jubilationtcornpone@sh.itjust.works 15 points 1 day ago (2 children)

State media says accusations from Kremlin critics that Max is a spying app are false and that it has fewer permissions to access user data than rivals WhatsApp and Telegram.

Lol. So what? The messages are going to be intercepted and fully accessible by the Kremlin. That's the whole point of this exercise.

I don't think you can call it an interception, as it's using their servers so there's no need for interception, you directly send them the messages.

Maybe their answer would work on people with 0 tech knowledge. It's safe! And they won't even stop you in the street to read your messages, so it's even convenient!

[–] redsand@lemmy.dbzer0.com 1 points 1 day ago

Also the US, China and probably Israel just because they can. Central hackable database of all the texts and calls

[–] dude 12 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

Worth adding that Max requires ID verification to sign up

[–] jjpamsterdam@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Can someone who actually has the misfortune of living or having lived in Russia recently explain how widespread the use of this messenger is? I was under the impression that Telegram, despite also being a deeply problematic service, was the most popular chat tool there, even if the regime has been trying to discourage it recently. Can anyone give a first hand account?

[–] altkey@lemmy.dbzer0.com 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

I work with lots of people with higher than average education level, mostly 30-50yo apolitical liberals.

Never heard anyone refering to Max like they do inviting someone to a TG/VK/Whatsup/Viber/Teams chat. No work chats there as far as I know, none in the context of schools/neighborhood communication group talks. Most people do use other replacement products like RuTube/VK VIds/Yandex video search, Yandex products are very popular amongst them, and like one eight of them uses VPNs to access YT but doesn't boast about it.

There were and are a wave of paid influencers and ads promoting it, but I've always heard about it second-hand, so compared to the likes of VK, Ya and others that do even billboard advertisement at my place, it's not that well promoted, and I only encounter it in local news articles. I'm yet to see any business advertise their Max channel like they did with Insta, VK and TG. It kinda suggests there are no money to make there.

I have an obviously skewed sample, but I don't see anyone signing in for a chat platform when no one is there. I suppose, besides pre-installs, they'd softly push it onto a public sector to gain base (september is a good month since schools and colleges start their year cycle there)(I'm sure I've heard some employers did promote it), then they'd seemingly lock some government functions behind it, then, probably, it'd start to roll and people themselves become their ad agents and reasons to join. If it'd start to roll.

I suspect it's more profits and profiling for VK, Max parent company, it's owner's dad being a top henchman who's likely gifted him that monopoly, but it is still too dangerous to have it at your device. Many people I described aren't pessimistic about the government's line like I am, but I do feel the buzz of generalized lack of trust to things suggested by the gvmnt. I assume, they won't join it unless it's needed or beneficial, and right now it's not.

AMA if you care, but I won't disclose anything leading to me.

chatted just now:

Some friends of my friend do install that shit for they don't care. They don't see many people or services there, so it's pretty stagnant, but they are on the edge of switching because they are afraid theit TG/WS chats would get blocked.

[–] jjpamsterdam@feddit.org 2 points 1 day ago

Thanks for the insights!