A Pikabu member with the pseudonym Kozotrah1975 reported that in the Russian national instant messenger Max, without their knowledge, users have “channels that are not easy to unsubscribe from.” He posted the corresponding entry on March 15, and has only now received attention.
The user attached a short video to the post about how he tried to unsubscribe from Solovyov’s channel linked to Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov. The recording shows how someone presses the “unsubscribe from channel” button several times, but each time Soloviev’s channel remains in the chat list.
Other Pikabu users confirmed that “a bunch of channels” they didn’t subscribe to appeared in the desktop version of Max. However, this is not the case in mobile applications.
User Hexpl0rer said: “I’ve subscribed to a bunch of unwanted channels. I can’t unsubscribe! They log back in right away. And there’s no ‘complain’ button.”
According to Peekaboo participants, they now have several pro-war and propaganda channels that cannot be unsubscribed from. User QQRTR reported that the messenger froze when trying to unsubscribe.
User vikssg said changes to security settings helped him: he only allowed his contacts to find him and invite him to a chat or channel.
In Russia, the national messaging program Max, launched in March 2025, is being actively promoted in various ways. Against this background, Roskomnadzor began to restrict the work of other popular instant messengers – WhatsApp and Telegram.
Max has been criticized for its potential to spy on users and security problems. Even bloggers on the Z network and the Federal Security Service, loyal to the authorities, expressed such concerns.