I myself have plenty of complaints about the national messenger. I explained in detail in an article why I don’t recommend MAX. But when I asked my friends why they don’t install the app, their answers turned out to be of a completely different kind. Not “the interface is worse than Telegram” and not “it lacks necessary features.” People are afraid of being spied on through the camera, are convinced that MAX blocks Telegram, and believe the messenger reads their conversations. I’m breaking down each argument with the respect it deserves. That is, with irony.
My friends really made me laugh
There Are No Contacts in MAX Messenger at All
The first argument goes like this:
There’s literally nobody there. I installed it, took a look: one contact, and that one’s a bot. Why do I need an empty messenger? Telegram was made by smart people, my whole life is there. MAX is for government officials and schoolkids.
I understand the skepticism. But the numbers somewhat diverge from this worldview. In April 2026, MAX’s daily audience exceeded 80 million people, with over 110 million registered users total. That’s more than the population of most European countries. It holds second place among messengers in Russia after Telegram — according to Mediascope data.
MAX is not an empty messenger — 80 million people use it daily.
When my friend opens MAX and sees one contact — most likely the app simply wasn’t given permission to access the phone book. He’d have been better off reading the guide where I explained what to do if MAX doesn’t see your contacts. Once permission is granted, most contacts appear in the app right away. Because they’ve been there for a long time already (they’re just also keeping quiet about it).
MAX Blocks Telegram and Other Messengers
Sure, it just goes ahead and blocks Telegram
This theory is particularly rich:
I heard that MAX deliberately slows down Telegram. You install MAX, and immediately Telegram starts lagging. It’s obvious — it’s in their interest to eliminate a competitor. VK wants to move everyone to their own apps, so they’re quietly sabotaging things.
Bulletproof logic. Except in reality, things work differently. Throttling and blocking are handled by Roskomnadzor — the government regulator, not messenger developers. MAX blocks Telegram in exactly the same way Google Chrome blocks Firefox — that is, not at all. These are two different apps from different companies. One of them is pre-installed by the government on all new smartphones. The other is throttled by that same Roskomnadzor.
MAX doesn't block Telegram — Roskomnadzor does that.
I already explained in detail why Telegram is being blocked in Russia and who’s behind it. Spoiler: VK has nothing to do with it. Telegram throttling happens at the network infrastructure level of carriers and has nothing to do with whether you have MAX installed or not.
MAX Reads Users’ Conversations
It won’t be MAX reading your conversations, but an employee of the relevant authorities. Source: legal.max.ru
This version inspires particular admiration:
I know for a fact that VK employees sit there and read conversations. They’re just curious about what people write. And then they sell the data. I wrote to my wife about a refrigerator, and immediately refrigerator ads started popping up. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
So, a refrigerator. Alright. Does MAX read users’ messages? No, it doesn’t in the sense that employees sit there sorting through your conversations. But it does store them on Russian servers and hands them over upon request from law enforcement. This is spelled out in the user agreement.
MAX stores conversations and hands them over upon request from authorities, just like VK.
However, there’s an important point here that my friends somehow ignore. MAX sees conversations in exactly the same scope as VKontakte does. Same servers, same jurisdiction, same willingness to cooperate with authorities. Meanwhile, all my friends who are afraid that MAX reads conversations happily sit on VK, discuss personal matters there, and post vacation photos. The logic of this position has eluded me for several months now.
MAX Spies on Android Users
That very all-seeing eye of MAX
This is my favorite version:
MAX constantly turns on the camera and microphone in the background. They record everything. They probably save it somewhere on a server and can then use it against you.
Does MAX spy through the camera? No. The app uses the camera and microphone for their intended purpose: when you make a call or record something within the app. Does MAX eavesdrop on users through the microphone? No. But here’s what the messenger actually does (and this is documented): it tracks whether you’re using a VPN. It analyzes network connections and transmits data about your network to servers. This isn’t a legend — it’s research conducted by technical specialists in March 2026. You can find out separately how to check MAX for eavesdropping and surveillance.
Scammers Are Everywhere in MAX and Steal Data
Scammers do indeed hack MAX
This argument is the most honest of all:
My account has already been targeted for hacking three times. They write that I won a prize, ask for an SMS code. I almost fell for it once. MAX doesn’t protect against scammers at all — it’s a dump. There’s nothing like that in Telegram.
Well, first of all, Telegram is full of the same thing (my friend just doesn’t notice). Scammers in MAX are indeed active: account hacking, phishing bots, prize schemes. This is a real problem that the state messenger is solving more slowly than one would like.
Scammers exist in all messengers.
In this sense, MAX security is neither worse nor better than any other messenger in Russia. Scammers operate wherever there’s an audience. And the audience in MAX is now enormous — which means there are plenty of scammers too. The exact same schemes work in Telegram, WhatsApp, and VKontakte. Protection in MAX from scammers comes down to two-factor authentication, which most people don’t enable, and basic digital literacy. The same things you need in any other messenger.
Do You Need to Create a Digital ID in MAX
