The MAX App: Russia’s Pocket-Sized Approach to Mass Surveillance

Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (U.S. Helsinki Commission): House Commission · December 3, 2025

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Opening and briefing goals

AnnouncementPresentation

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Director, U.S. Helsinki Commission, opened the briefing, framed it around a recent trip to Kyiv and meetings with civil society in occupied Ukraine, and introduced the topic: the Max app and its role in Russian digital surveillance. The Director described Max as "a super app that gives Russian officials wide ranging access to users' messages, contacts, Internet usage, and location," and introduced the three panelists.

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Experts at a U.S. Helsinki Commission briefing warned that Russia’s new Max “super app” consolidates messaging, location and device data, could be preinstalled on new phones, and may be exported to neighboring countries; panelists urged U.S. support for circumvention tools and private-sector safeguards.

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Transcript

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