The Russian messaging app Max has disappeared from the international section of the Huawei AppGallery
The Max app, promoted by the Russian government, is no longer available for download on AppGallery, the app store operated by Chinese tech giant Huawei.
Users began noticing changes in the platform’s availability on the evening of June 9.
Currently, the state-run messenger cannot be found via internal search or downloaded outside the Russian Federation.
The app completely disappears from the list of available services if the user connects via a VPN from any location other than Russia. For users with a Russian IP address, the service remains active in AppGallery.
Journalist Alexander Plyushchev confirmed the access restrictions, citing reports from his followers. When attempting to follow a direct link from the product’s official website, foreign users see only an error message.
The Chinese company has not yet officially commented on the reasons for the app’s hidden isolation. However, a week earlier, on June 3, the American corporation Apple imposed similar sanctions against the Russian media service.
At that time, the state-run messenger was completely removed from the international and Russian App Store catalogs. The app disappeared from search results, and direct installation links became invalid for iPhone owners.
The American corporation later explained that the restrictions were related to international law. Apple representatives noted that Max was removed from the platform due to sanctions.
According to the company’s explanation, this measure was taken in accordance with the laws of the countries where it operates, so the app was removed from the App Store in compliance with rules regarding international restrictions.
The block at the level of official marketplaces significantly affected the functionality of apps already installed on the iOS operating system.
Max developers reported that notifications about calls and messages from the app also stopped appearing on iPhones.
Due to the revocation of digital certificates, users no longer receive automatic push notifications about activity in chat rooms.
Hidden user tracking features were discovered in the Max messenger
Earlier, the Kremlin temporarily refrained from blocking Telegram due to the failure with “Max.”
The Russian State Duma immediately passed amendments to the Housing Code in the second and third readings, requiring apartment buildings to maintain chat groups on the national Max messenger.
Putin’s Max messenger turned out to be 60 times less popular than Telegram.
