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Millions of Russians were abruptly cut off from the encrypted WhatsApp messaging service on Wednesday afternoon after months of efforts to force them on to a “national messenger” built for surveillance.
Russian authorities removed the Meta-owned app, which had at least 100mn users in the country until recently, from the equivalent of an online directory run by Roskomnadzor, the internet regulator, earlier on Wednesday.
That step essentially erases WhatsApp from Russia’s internet, making it nearly impossible to access the service without elaborate workarounds.
It is a more complete block than the earlier attempts to slow down the app and indicates Moscow intends to cut off access to the service for a long period of time or permanently.
WhatsApp said: “Today the Russian government has attempted to fully block WhatsApp in an effort to drive users to a state-owned surveillance app. Trying to isolate over 100mn people from private and secure communication is a backwards step and can only lead to less safety for people in Russia.”
Moscow also erased Meta’s Facebook and Instagram from the directory, leaving them accessible only via VPNs (virtual private networks) after they had been designated as “extremist”. Access to YouTube was also visibly degraded, according to Russian internet analysts, but it is not clear if it had been completely erased from the online directory.
The removals seem to be the culmination of a long-running effort to push Russians to a rival app called Max, modelled on China’s WeChat, which combines messaging and government services — but without any encryption.
Iran has similarly tried to create local services to rival those from foreign companies, intending to push citizens on to a National Information Network that the government can more easily monitor.
Max was officially designated the “national messenger” last year, boosting the usage of the little-known app owned by leading Russian social media network VKontakte (VK), which is directly controlled by President Vladimir Putin’s inner circle.
Earlier this week, Russia had also stepped up its disruption of Telegram, which is more popular in the country than WhatsApp, especially for consuming news and entertainment.
Telegram’s Russia-born founder, Pavel Durov, denounced the new restrictions, saying “restricting citizens’ freedom is never the right answer”.
“Telegram stands for freedom of speech and privacy, no matter the pressure,” he said on the messaging service.
Restrictions on Telegram have backfired domestically, sparking criticism even among Kremlin supporters. The app has been widely used by Russian soldiers on the frontline as well as by the residents of regions bordering Ukraine who relied on it for alerts about drone and missile attacks.
“I am concerned that slowing Telegram could affect the flow of information, if the situation deteriorates,” Vyacheslav Gladkov, the governor of one such region, Belgorod, wrote on his Telegram channel.
Russia has been actively degrading access to WhatsApp and Telegram since last summer, with “partial restrictions” that made voice calls impossible.
By December, authorities slowed WhatsApp by 70 per cent to 80 per cent, according to Russian media reports, degrading its usability in a country already suffering from internet slowdowns as a result of Ukrainian attacks and state interventions.