Messenger Max has begun blocking users who attempt to disable access to their camera, microphone, and geolocation.
To block complained At least 700 users have already attempted to access the national messenger through the Komet program, which disables tracking and personal data collection.
The Max Security Center confirmed the blocking, saying it believes "unofficial third-party apps" and "alternative clients" that allow access to the national messenger are "malicious."
“[Their] installation poses a threat to the user’s personal data and also allows attackers to send malicious and dangerous files on behalf of the user,” stated in the press service of the company.
Russian authorities are positioning the Max messenger as a platform for providing state and municipal services, which could also replace the "hostile" WhatsApp and Telegram. Starting in August, users will be forced to use the national messenger. connect officials, civil servants and even schoolchildren parent chats.
Experts have already dubbed the new app "a cop in your pocket": they say Max can activate the video camera every 5-10 minutes, even if the user doesn't interact with it.
According to estimates by the publication Verstka, against the backdrop of mandatory installation requirements, tens of thousands of users have already downloaded modifications to their phones that allow them to disable tracking features when using Max.
Despite assurances that the national messenger helps protect Russians from telephone scammers, yesterday parents of students at one of the Orenburg schools stated about their Max chat being hacked. The regional Ministry of Education later clarified that the hack was caused by a malicious link clicked by one of the chat participants while using another messenger.
"As a result, the attackers gained access to information on her phone and began sending malicious files in the victim's name to chats where the device was authorized, including a parental chat on the MAX messenger," clarified officials.
They also emphasized that "it's not the messengers, including MAX, that are dangerous, but clicking on unknown links," which infect the phone with malware.
Of course, the ministry didn't explain why, given this situation, it forced parents to delete their chats from WhatsApp and Telegram.
