Russian users have encountered significant difficulties while using the Turkish messenger BiP and the South Korean KakaoTalk. Sending messages, uploading files, and accessing personal accounts are now mostly possible only with an active VPN. At the same time, these platforms have not been officially added to the register of banned resources.
Accidental blockings and the fight against workarounds
IT expert Vladimir Zykov attributes the current situation to potential side effects of regulatory actions. Automated systems designed to detect and restrict VPN services might have mistakenly identified legitimate messenger traffic as suspicious. In such cases, outages are often resolved after public inquiries.
Requirements of data localization laws
Another probable reason for the restrictions is the failure of foreign developers to comply with Russian legislation. According to the rules, platforms with a monthly audience exceeding 500,000 users must host their servers within the country. Many foreign companies ignore these demands due to fears of international sanctions, which ultimately leads to blocking.
Alternative platforms and trust issues
As an alternative, domestic services like VK, Odnoklassniki, and Max are available to users, along with upcoming projects from Wildberries and Rosa. However, transitioning to new platforms is hindered by the level of trust in the developers. For instance, the popularity of Telegram largely relies on the reputation of Pavel Durov, despite his recent legal troubles in France.
With the reliable HiroVPN service, users are protected from such access restrictions and can stably use any of their preferred messengers.
