It’s unpleasant to admit, but I have to. I’ve been consistently criticizing MAX for a long time. I even wrote in detail about why I don’t like this messenger, and my position hasn’t changed. A state-run messenger created by federal law, with a privacy policy that allows sharing your data with third parties. Sounds like anti-advertising, right? But honesty is more important than principles, so today I’ll try to find real advantages of the MAX app over Telegram. Spoiler: they exist. But this says less about MAX’s quality and more about the state of Telegram in Russia.

MAX simply mocks Telegram

Why Telegram Doesn’t Work

In spring 2026, a total blocking of Telegram began in Russia. This is no longer just throttling — it’s a full-fledged restriction. Technically, the messenger exists, servers are running, Durov hasn’t shut it down. But Telegram doesn’t work without jumping through hoops in Russia for several months now. What’s happening:

  • Messages in MAX arrive instantly, while in Telegram they’re delayed by several minutes (sometimes hours) or don’t arrive at all;
  • Photos and videos in Telegram don’t load for hours;
  • Calls in MAX work without issues, while in Telegram they were blocked back in August 2025;
  • Voice messages in Telegram won’t play.

Workarounds can provide access, but they’re constantly being restricted too, and finding a stable option is becoming increasingly difficult. It’s a vicious circle: Telegram exists, but you can’t fully use it without technical know-how. Channels from Telegram to MAX have partially migrated: authors who want to remain accessible to the Russian audience have created duplicates.

The national messenger MAX works without restrictions against this backdrop. A messenger that can barely do anything that Telegram can do, but does it reliably. No VPN, no configuration, no searching for a working server. You just open it and type. A low bar for praise, but in current conditions, a real advantage.

MAX works, and that’s its main trump card

Yes, sometimes MAX doesn’t work. In March 2026, the messenger was down for several hours, and users couldn’t send a single message. But that was a one-time incident, not a systemic problem. When the choice is between “works sometimes with interruptions” and “doesn’t work at all without workarounds,” the answer is, unfortunately, obvious.

Will MAX Be Blocked in Russia

Blocking MAX is impossible by definition. It’s not just unlikely — it contradicts the very logic of its existence. MAX in Russia was created based on federal law, complies with all Roskomnadzor requirements, stores data on Russian servers, and is ready to hand them over at the first request. The government doesn’t block what it created, funds, and controls.

MAX is being built practically by personal order of the country’s president. Source: kremlin.ru

Telegram’s blocking in Russia happened for a specific reason: Durov refused to comply with Russian regulators’ demands (not handing over encryption keys, not blocking channels upon request, not localizing data). He paid for it with accessibility. MAX doesn’t have and can’t have such a problem.

It was originally designed to have no friction with the government whatsoever. Imagine a messenger that takes pride in not being independent. That’s exactly what MAX is. That’s exactly why it won’t be blocked. That’s exactly why people use it — whether they want to or not. Could MAX be blocked in Russia? Come on!

How Many MAX Users Are There

As of April 2026 — 111 million. That’s how many MAX users are registered in the messenger. For comparison: Durov himself spoke of 65 million Russians continuing to use Telegram after the blocking.

According to official data as of April 2026, the vast majority of Russian residents use the MAX messenger. Source: rg.ru

The number is impressive. Especially if you remember that MAX started without any organic audience: people weren’t invited there — they were herded there by blocking competitors and moving school chats over. A marketing strategy that business textbooks don’t usually teach.

Nevertheless, the result speaks for itself. Older people have massively switched to MAX and stopped using Telegram. For them, a messenger that works without workarounds matters more than principles. Relatives who used to message me on Telegram now only write in MAX. You can cringe, but you can’t ignore it. A messenger without people is useless, and there are now more people in MAX than in Telegram.

Advantages of MAX Compared to Telegram

This is where things get most unexpected. MAX has advantages, and they’re quite specific. The messenger can do certain things that Telegram can’t and most likely never will in the Russian context:

  • Digital ID. An electronic passport right in the messenger. A legally valid document accepted by a number of organizations. I made a Digital ID in MAX myself — there’s a detailed account of the process. Useful? Yes. Pleasant to store passport data in an app with such a privacy policy? Not at all. But it works.
  • Doctor appointments. Through MAX, you can book appointments at public healthcare facilities directly. It works and it’s convenient. Telegram doesn’t offer anything like this.
  • Sferum. An educational platform for students and teachers is built right into MAX on Android. School chats, assignments, communication with the class. For families with children, this is no longer optional — it’s a given.
  • Integration with Gosuslugi (Government Services). Some government services are accessible directly from the messenger — without a separate app.

All of this works exclusively because MAX is embedded in the government infrastructure. This is simultaneously its greatest advantage and its biggest problem. That’s why scammers in MAX feel right at home — the audience trusts the messenger by default: if it’s government-run, it must be safe. This is a misconception that costs many people dearly. And the fact that MAX has been hacked more than once shouldn’t be forgotten either.

Should You Switch from Telegram to MAX

It depends on what you mean by “switching.” If we’re talking about deleting Telegram and using only MAX —