Thu Oct 29 2026, 07:34 AM EDT · 2 minute read

Moscow at night (Credit: Evgenit/Pixabay)

Apple and Microsoft have been added to a Russian state surveillance registry, requiring them to hand over users' text, video and audio messages without a legal process, and by request.

Multiple firms and apps are already on this same list, including WhatsApp and Telegram, so it's not clear why it has taken until now for Apple to be added. It's a continuation of the country's moves to control users' messages, though, as it follows Russia's blocking of FaceTime in 2025.

According to Bloomberg , Apple and Microsoft were added to this registry of "organizers of information dissemination" on October 2, 2026. The registry is operated by the country's state media watchdog, Roskomnadzor, which previously forced Apple to remove VPN apps from the App Store .

Now that Apple is on this registry, Russian law requires it to store local users' correspondence for up to three years.…