Russian Messenger Max Adds Safe Mode to Protect Students
The new feature restricts who can message schoolchildren, creating a secure digital environment for learning.
The developer of the Russian messenger Max has introduced a “safe mode” for users registered as students in the educational platform Sferum.
The new feature narrows the circle of communication for schoolchildren. Only users already in a child’s contact list can send messages, with exceptions made for classmates and teachers from a verified school roster. Contacts from educational institutions are synchronized with the electronic gradebook and carefully verified by administrators.
This step follows the successful integration of Max with Sferum. The phased rollout of the update for all users will begin in September. Max, developed by VK, has already been downloaded more than 80 million times.
Enhancing digital safety for children is one of the leading trends in edtech. In Russia, Max is evolving into more than a messenger—it is becoming a full ecosystem where all users, including the youngest, can interact safely. School chats are already actively migrating to Max.
