Mandatory Migration to Max App for School Communications in Moscow: A New Era for Parents and Teachers

Starting in the upcoming academic year, parents and educators of over a million students in Moscow will be mandated to utilize the Kremlin-approved messaging application Max for all digital communications, the city officials announced on Friday.

«A federal law has been enacted, which means that from September 1, all parent groups in schools will transition to Max,» said Moscow’s Deputy Mayor Anastasia Rakova during a press conference. She was referring to legislation that designates Max as the official national messenger for Russia.

Additionally, educational institutions in more than 20 other regions will also be required to adopt the app developed by VK. Pilot programs are already underway in the republics of Tatarstan, Mari El, and Altai, along with the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Vladimir and Tver regions, aimed at migrating all school communication to Max.

This initiative follows allegations from Russian officials that they have begun to limit voice and video capabilities on popular messaging services like WhatsApp and Telegram, both of which have a large user base in the country.

Russian Education Minister Sergei Kravtsov stated earlier this week that the switch to Max would not be obligatory for teachers and parents.

«However, we believe that its user-friendly and intuitive design, along with secure data handling, will be recognized by teachers and parents alike, leading to a swift transition to the national messenger within the education system,» Kravtsov commented.

A recent independent study has raised concerns about Max’s privacy, highlighting its practices such as collecting IP addresses, geolocation data, and contact lists. Its privacy policy also mentions potential data sharing with government entities and «company partners.»

The app requests permissions to access a device’s camera, microphone, Bluetooth, notifications, and biometric data. Additionally, developers have utilized open-source code from foreign sources, including Ukraine, which some critics argue undermines claims of technological independence by Russia.

Apart from educational establishments, universities, property management firms, and government offices have been instructed to migrate their communication platforms to Max as well.

Officials predict that Max will evolve into Russia’s «super-app,» serving as a singular hub for messaging, payment processing, and government services.

Starting September 1, the application will be mandatorily pre-installed on all smartphones, tablets, computers, and smart TVs sold within Russia.