Skip to content
  1. Home
  2. Tools
  3. Censorship Monitor
  4. Russia
  5. WhatsApp

Censorship Monitor · Russia Last test

Is WhatsApp banned in Russia?

Yes. Russia restricted WhatsApp calls in August 2025 and blocked the whole service in February 2026, and it was still almost completely blocked in mid-2026.

Today’s test · www.whatsapp.com

Blocked

www.whatsapp.com fails to open on Rostelecom and MTS, twice, while it opens from other countries.

Last confirmed
Seen in our tests since
29 Sep 2026 (may be older)
How it fails
The connection never completes
Tested on
Rostelecom and MTS
Test WhatsApp yourself › Everything we test in Russia

The official status

WhatsApp in Russia

Russia moved against WhatsApp in stages. Roskomnadzor restricted its calls in August 2025, mobile operators were told to block the text messages used to register new accounts in October 2025, and wider restrictions followed from late November 2025.

In February 2026 WhatsApp’s website disappeared from Russia’s national DNS, and on 12 February the Kremlin confirmed that Roskomnadzor was blocking it. Roskomnadzor says the app doesn’t comply with Russian rules on preventing crime and is used for fraud and terrorism; WhatsApp said Russia was trying to “fully block” it.

In July 2026 WhatsApp was still almost completely blocked. The Kremlin has said an agreement is possible if Meta works with the Russian authorities.

What people use instead

Max, the state-backed messenger the authorities push Russians to use. By June 2026 its monthly audience was larger than WhatsApp’s, according to Mediascope data reported by Meduza.

Get past a block

How to use WhatsApp in Russia

A VPN connects you through a server in another country, so a block on WhatsApp in Russia no longer applies. Where VPNs themselves are blocked, you need one that can disguise its traffic, and you should set it up before you travel.

Using a VPN isn’t illegal in Russia, but VPN providers that won’t cooperate with the government are blocked.

NordVPN

Our top pick
  • Obfuscated servers for networks that block VPNs
  • Connects you through a server in another country
  • Encrypts what your internet provider could otherwise see
Get NordVPN ›

30-day money-back guarantee

Surfshark

  • Camouflage Mode makes VPN traffic look like ordinary traffic
  • Unlimited devices on one plan
  • Apps for phones, computers and TVs
Get Surfshark ›

30-day money-back guarantee

Does NordVPN work in Russia? › Best VPNs for WhatsApp › Where VPNs are legal ›

We earn a commission if you buy through these links. It never changes what the monitor shows. Our disclosure.

Around the world

Where else is WhatsApp blocked?

WhatsApp is also blocked in 2 other countries we test.

It opens in 21 of the 23 other countries with a current result.

WhatsApp in every country we test ›

Russia

What else is blocked in Russia?

31 of the other 66 sites and apps we test are blocked in Russia.

All 67 results for Russia ›

History

Changes for WhatsApp in Russia

No confirmed changes since monitoring began on 29 Sep 2026. When a block appears or lifts, and a re-check on several machines agrees, it shows up here.

Method

How we test

  • Every day, test machines on Rostelecom and MTS home connections open www.whatsapp.com.
  • A failure counts only when it happens twice on the same network, while the site opens from other countries.
  • A change is published only after re-checks a few hours later and again the next day, on several machines per provider, confirm it. It’s dated from the first sighting.
  • Test machines caught getting around blocks, through a VPN or a filter-dodging tool, are set aside.
  • We test the website over home broadband. The app, calls and mobile networks can behave differently.

Full method ›

Questions

WhatsApp in Russia: questions

Does WhatsApp Work in Russia?

No. Russia restricted WhatsApp calls in August 2025 and blocked the whole service in February 2026, and it was still almost completely blocked in mid-2026.

Why Did Russia Block WhatsApp?

Roskomnadzor said WhatsApp didn’t comply with Russian requirements to prevent crime and was used to organise terrorist activity and defraud citizens. It restricted the app in stages from August 2025 before blocking it in February 2026.

Will WhatsApp Be Unblocked in Russia?

Nothing suggests it soon. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in February 2026 that an agreement was possible if Meta worked with the Russian authorities, and in July 2026 WhatsApp was still almost completely blocked.

Free to use

Cite this result

Quote or republish today’s result with a link to this page: the monitor’s data is under a Creative Commons Attribution licence (CC BY 4.0).

Source: vpnAlert Censorship Monitor, https://vpnalert.com/tools/censorship-monitor/russia/whatsapp/

Explore the monitor

More answers