While panic was being stirred up online about mandatory registration of every smartphone, the Ministry of Digital Development came out and directly called it fake. The Federation Council approved the law on a unified IMEI database, and rumors immediately spread that now you’d have to register your phone yourself, and even pay for it. The ministry has now set the record straight: the news about the IMEI database turned out to be much calmer than it seemed.
Smartphone registration in Russia. What is known so far?
What the Ministry of Digital Development Said About the IMEI Database
The main thing you need to know: there will be no mandatory smartphone registration required from the owner. The ministry directly refuted messages circulating online and called them unreliable.
It does not require citizens to “register” their devices. Reports about this are fake.
In simple terms, the unified IMEI database in Russia will be populated without your involvement. Data about device identifiers will be submitted by mobile carriers, who already register every smartphone on the network, or by the Federal Customs Service when devices are imported. This means you won’t have to go anywhere, fill out any forms, or pay for IMEI database registration of your regular phone.
When You Will Actually Need to Register a Smartphone Yourself
There is exactly one case when the owner needs to act independently. This applies to those who bought a new device abroad and brought it into Russia personally. In that case, smartphone registration falls on the owner’s shoulders, but even here it’s not scary: it can be done voluntarily through the “Gosuslugi” (Government Services) portal, without running around to various offices.
Users won’t have to register their phones manually
For everyone else who buys devices in regular Russian stores, nothing changes. So the mass SIM-to-IMEI binding by hand that everyone was scaring each other with actually only applies to a narrow group of people with purchases from abroad.
Why the IMEI Database Is Needed
A reasonable question: if not for surveillance of citizens, then what was it all started for? The authorities explain the necessity as fighting illegal imports and stolen devices. Gray-market smartphones and devices with spoofed identifiers used for criminal purposes are exactly what should be filtered out through the database.
The IMEI database in Russia will help clear the market of low-quality devices
Additionally, the ministry separately noted the registry’s role in protection against drones, as it makes it easier to understand which devices are actually operating on the network. In other words, the effort is aimed at illegal trade, not honest buyers, and being added to the smartphone blacklist threatens only contraband.
What Smartphone Owners Should Do Right Now
The answer is extremely simple: nothing. The exact parameters of how the database will work will be determined by separate regulations, so specific timelines and details will come later. Right now, there’s no need to rush to register, check, or pay for anything. If you have a regular smartphone purchased in Russia, the IMEI check and entry into the database will happen without your involvement.
Our advice remains the same: don’t fall for scary rumors, wait for official clarifications, and keep your account access in order. As soon as the Ministry of Digital Development publishes the final rules, we’ll be the first to break it all down.
