Apple removes Russian digital ID app Max from its stores citing sanctions

Apple has removed Russian state-backed messaging and digital ID platform Max from its official App Store, affecting more than 20 million users. The U.S. tech company says the removal was carried out to comply with sanctions regulations.​

Max users discovered that the app was missing from the App Store on Wednesday. The platform’s developer, VKontakte, warned that the removal means Apple device owners can no longer receive notifications from the app, but that messages will still be delivered and all Max functions will remain available.

“We recommend that you open the application yourself from time to time so as not to miss important messages,” Vkontakte said in a statement to Russian news agency TASS.

The company added that it has reached out to Apple to solve the problem. Apple did not specify which sanctions the company is following in removing Max from the App Store.

Apple’s move has prompted a response from the Russian government.

The state-backed app has been playing a role in providing Russians with access to public and private services, allowing users to create digital IDs for identification and age verification.

Ministry of Digital Development’s Maksut Shadayev said the agency plans to address the issue of removal, financial news outlet RBC reports.

“We already have a daily audience of more than 60 million people,” says Shadayev. “Approximately 25-30 percent are users of devices on the iOS platform. With this decision, Apple immediately limited the access of more than 20 million iPhone and iPad users to the national messenger service without explanation.”

The Max app has been drawing accusations of spying and censorship. Although the government is presenting it as a push towards digitalization, many see it as a way to surveil Russians and distance them from Western platforms and independent sources of information.

Yulia Navalnaya, the widow of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, has been advocating for the removal of the app from Apple and Google app stores, according to the BBC. It is unclear whether oppositional campaigning could have influenced Apple’s decision.

The beta version of Max was released in March 2025 and currently has 120 million registered users. The platform is also available in approximately 40 countries outside of Russia.

The Russian government has mandated that all smartphones sold after September 2025 must come with Max pre-installed.

Article Topics

Apple  |  digital ID  |  government services  |  Max  |  Russia  |  super app