Summary of the Article: The Failing State of MAX Messenger
This article paints a bleak picture of MAX, a Russian messaging app intended as a secure choice to platforms like Telegram. Hear’s a breakdown of the key points:
1.Security Issues & Fraud:
* Account Hacking & Rental: Accounts are being bought and sold on shadow forums for use in fraudulent schemes, ranging from $10 to $250 per hour of use.Scammers use these accounts to make fraudulent calls.
* Rising Fraudulent Calls: 9% of fraudulent calls currently originate through MAX, and this is projected to rise to 15-22% by the end of 2025, leading to a notable increase in account suspensions (potentially 150,000-300,000 per month).
* Vulnerabilities: Despite ongoing security efforts and audits, new vulnerabilities are constantly being discovered.
2. Financial & User Adoption Problems:
* “Bottomless Hole”: MAX is described as a “failed project” and a “bottomless hole” due to its low efficiency despite massive government funding.
* Low User Engagement: Users are deleting the app, making it difficult to present positive statistics.
* Advertising Struggles: Advertisers find the platform unattractive due to its small audience (primarily government channels), lack of analytics, and data security concerns.
* Outpaced by Competitors: MAX’s advertising revenue is significantly lower than Telegram and YouTube, and it’s projected to remain far behind. Advertising spending is expected to reach 600 million rubles by the end of 2025, but still lags far behind competitors.
* Limited Channel Growth: While the number of channels is growing, most are state-controlled media.
3. Surveillance & Political Use:
* Security Forces Tool: The primary success of MAX appears to be its effectiveness as a surveillance tool for Russian security forces. It has significantly increased the number of cases of “discrediting” the government and armed forces identified through monitoring.
* Political Monitoring: the integrated monitoring system has uncovered hundreds of users critical of the government.
4. Kremlin Discomfort:
* Lack of Differentiation: Even Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov admits he doesn’t understand the purpose of MAX, questioning its difference from other platforms.
In essence, the article portrays MAX as a costly, insecure, and unpopular messaging app that has failed to achieve its intended goals of providing a secure interaction platform for Russians. Its primary function appears to have become surveillance for the Russian government.
