Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Representatives of Russian messaging platform MAX met with journalists from Uzbekistan in Moscow to discuss the service’s development, audience growth, new features, anti-fraud measures and opportunities for businesses.
MAX CEO Farit Khusnoyarov, Product Director Evgeny Shirinkin and Head of Trust & Safety Maria Maltseva spoke about the platform’s development, its audience in Uzbekistan, available features and approaches to data protection. UzDaily presents the main points of the discussion in an interview format.
— Farit, what role does Uzbekistan play for MAX today?
Farit Khusnoyarov: Uzbekistan is one of our key international markets. MAX currently has 11.5 million users outside Russia, and Uzbekistan ranks first among foreign countries. More than 4 million people in Uzbekistan use the messenger — roughly the combined population of Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara.
We see intensive communication between Uzbekistan and Russia. Around 12 million messages are sent and 1.3 million calls are made every day. These are substantial volumes, and we take them into account as we develop the product.
— What steps have you taken for users in Uzbekistan?
Farit Khusnoyarov: In August 2026, we added Uzbek to the interface. This is an important step because many families in Uzbekistan and Russia have relatives on both sides of the border. We want communication to be convenient in users’ native language.
— Evgeny, what features does MAX offer users today?
Evgeny Shirinkin: MAX offers a wide range of features. These include voice and video calls, with particular attention to call quality, especially for long-distance communication. We use NoLACE technology, which helps maintain high-quality connections even when the internet connection is weak.
Users in Uzbekistan have created around 150 million chats. They can send media, voice messages, video messages and files of up to 4 GB. We launched Stories in the summer. Short circular video messages are also popular, and users can convert them into text when they cannot listen to the audio.
The platform also offers stickers, including animated ones. Our team has prepared a sticker pack featuring MAX’s bear mascot specifically for Uzbek users.
— What topics are most popular on Uzbek channels?
Evgeny Shirinkin: The three most popular categories in Uzbekistan are news, music and video, and cooking. This reflects the diversity of the audience and the considerable potential for content creators. We plan to take feedback from Uzbek users into account as we develop channel features.
— Maria, how do you protect users, particularly as the audience in Uzbekistan grows?
Maria Maltseva: Security is our priority. One of the key mechanisms is trusted communication through adding people to contacts. If a person is not in a user’s contacts, they can send an invitation link, allowing the recipient to make a conscious decision about whether to communicate. This reduces the risk of fraud and spam.
Users can also enable Safe Mode and control who can call them, who can invite them to chats and what content they see. Family protection settings allow users to configure these parameters for children or elderly relatives.
We have also introduced warnings about suspicious links. An automated system checks links and displays a warning if it detects a potential threat. Two-factor authentication is available to protect accounts: users can set a password that will be required when logging in on a new device or session.
— What can users do about unwanted contacts?
Maria Maltseva: MAX has a “Report” button and a blocking mechanism that can be used after a message has been reviewed following multiple complaints. If users receive an unwanted message or call, they can file a report. The signal goes to our Security Centre, where specialists promptly check for possible fraudulent activity.
We also clearly indicate when a caller or sender is not in the recipient’s contacts. This helps users exercise greater caution.
— Can a company create an official page on MAX? Is verification available?
Evgeny Shirinkin: We have MAX for Business, available through our business website. Companies can register an official business channel or chatbot there. Registration requires a Russian legal entity, which must be verified through a bank ID or the Gosuslugi public services platform.
There is currently no verification badge for ordinary users or government officials, as offered by some social networks. The badge is used only for projects operated by MAX itself.
— Could Uzbekistan create a local equivalent of the App Store to distribute the application?
Farit Khusnoyarov: We have launched an open-source partnership programme. Legal entities, including foreign companies, can sign an agreement with us, obtain the application’s source code, modify it and launch their own version of MAX. This creates opportunities for local solutions.
— Will MAX develop into an ecosystem integrating public services and business services? Are similar plans being considered for countries other than Russia?
Farit Khusnoyarov: MAX is integrated with Russian public services. For example, Digital ID allows users to present documents electronically and confirm their age or eligibility for benefits.
More than half a million companies and organisations are registered on our business platform. However, communication remains the messenger’s core function. People come to MAX for fast and convenient communication, so we introduce additional features carefully to avoid disrupting that experience.
We are open to cooperation with other countries, but our current focus is on Russia and our key international audiences, particularly Uzbekistan.
— What are your priorities for Uzbek users going forward?
Farit Khusnoyarov: Our main priority is making communication more convenient. We will continue improving call quality, expanding business opportunities through MAX for Business and developing channels together with creators from Uzbekistan. Setting up a Russian legal entity is also available to foreign nationals.
We will, of course, continue working to improve the application’s security and reliability.
Background:
MAX is owned by VK. According to the information provided by the company, the platform has 140 million users, of whom 90 million use it daily.
MAX operates in 40 countries. Uzbekistan has 4 million users, making it the platform’s largest market outside Russia.
