Moscow: The Russia authorities have imposed a ban on Snapchat and Apple’s video calling service FaceTime.
According to international media reports, authorities stated that the platforms were allegedly being used for planning terrorist activities. Officials claimed that certain groups were taking advantage of Snapchat’s encrypted chats and disappearing messages to stay in contact, after which the app was blocked nationwide.
Alongside Snapchat, Russia has also suspended Apple’s FaceTime service. Authorities said that some “unauthorized” foreign communication tools are incompatible with the country’s security surveillance systems, leading to the decision.
It is noteworthy that Russia has previously restricted access to Google, YouTube, several Meta services, WhatsApp and Telegram.
Analysts believe that such consistent actions are further limiting public access to international digital platforms within the country, while the government maintains that the measures are essential for national security.