Starting from September 1, the mandatory pre-installation of MAX on electronic devices will be introduced.

From September 1, 2025, the MAX digital platform will become mandatory for pre-installation on all electronic devices. It will replace VK Messenger in the corresponding list of applications. This was announced on August 21 by the press service of the Government of the Russian Federation.

"Starting from September 1, the Max digital platform will be included in the list of programs required for pre-installation on electronic devices in 2025. In the list of such programs, MAX will replace VK Messenger, which has been there since 2023," the government's website says.

It is assumed that MAX will become the basis for a multifunctional information exchange service that provides secure communication and access to digital services from the government and business.

In addition, Lime HD TV is also included in the list of required pre-installation programs, which will be pre-installed on TVs with a digital control unit from January 1, 2026.

Smart MAX: will VK's national messenger be able to repeat the success of Chinese WeChat

Machine learning technologies have been introduced in the new product to improve call quality.

On August 19, the MAX press service reported that 18 million users had already signed up for the app. Since the launch of the platform, Russians have sent over 200 million messages and made about 30 million calls, and the number of group chats is close to 1 million — currently the number is 700 thousand.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.