Nesting noted that Sber and T-Bank had disabled conversations with other users and comments on translations in their applications.
In Sberbank, when trying to send a message, a notification appears: “Correspondence is no longer supported. Comments on transfers are available in the transaction history.” The bank confirmed that the dialogue function began to be removed on April 27, and as of May 5, it will be disabled for all customers.
T-Bank reported that in the updated interface, the “Chat” section is now called “Support,” and correspondence with other customers has been deleted.
Sber launched the app’s dialogue function in 2018. It allows users to create conversations — for example, raising money for someone to get a gift, sending cards, or just chatting. The bank support did not explain why this function was disabled.
Are you angry about the ban? We understand! No one should tell you what to read or where to network. We are doing our best to help people in Russia maintain access to free internet. But we need your help. Dear readers, not in Russia, We ask that you make a small monthly donation. We know there are hundreds of other people who can do this. Dear readers in Russia, You also have the opportunity to support us. Together we can get through this.
Against the background of the “slowdown” and almost complete ban of Telegram in Russia, users began to look for alternative options for communicating with loved ones – for example, in Avito chats. Russians were also actively interacting in online games and in the Sber app. One Russian woman residing in Bali said she contacted her parents via an automatic cat feeder with a built-in camera.