WhatsApp Says Russia Attempted to ‘Fully Block’ Service Months After Partial Ban

In August 2025 the Russian government partially banned WhatsApp and Telegram’s voice calling services. The partial block was part of efforts to combat crimes and terrorist activities being conducted against the state, according to Russia at the time, based on the functionalities of the two foreign-owned instant messaging apps. WhatsApp has issued a statement now saying that the Russian government is trying to ‘fully block’ the company from providing its services in Russia.

WhatsApp Says 100 Million Users in Russia Won’t Have Access to Privacy Features

The instant messaging service says in a post on X, that Russia, on Thursday, tried to “fully block” WhatsApp in the country. But the government’s move is part of its efforts to push for adoption of a state-owned messaging platform, which it calls Max, according to the tech firm. WhatsApp has not been officially banned by the Russian government, but it has yet to announce an official ban on WhatsApp.

It says the company has over 100 million WhatsApp users in the country, it will not be able to access privacy and security features that is described by the Meta-owned app. The new move would mean Russian people using less secure means of communications online, WhatsApp said. WhatsApp added ‘We do all we can to keep users connected.

It’s not the first time that the Russian government has tried to block WhatsApp in Russia. Russian lawmakers, meanwhile, have called for a ban on social media sites and other online communication services that are not located in Russia amid ongoing geopolitical tensions.

A report in August 2025 cited Roskomnadzor, Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media, as part of a partial ban on WhatsApp and Telegram’t voice calling services. This is believed to be part of the regulator’s stance against crime perpetrated through these foreign platforms, which it said was made as part in its efforts to prevent crimes committed. However, other features of the two “foreign messengers” were not affected by any further functionalities.

The country’s law enforcement agencies had reportedly complained that WhatsApp and Telegram, which are also in the US and UAE, were “trying” to deceive and sell money from Russians while simultaneously supporting terrorist activities against the state,” according to Russia regulator.

It is said that Roskomnadzor repeated requests to WhatsApp and Telegram for countering bad actors. But the regulator said these requests were ignored, claiming they had been made to make such requests. This was a restriction that had been in place throughout Russia, but Russian residents were able to bypass the partial ban with VPN services.