Apple removes Russia’s state-backed messaging app Max from its store

Apple removed Russia's state-backed Max messaging app from the iOS App Store reportedly for `sanctions compliance`, making it unavailable for new downloads while existing users can still use the app without updates or notifications. The article outlines impact on user activity, availability on Android (Google Play and RuStore), Russian officials' criticism, concerns from digital-rights advocates about surveillance and lack of end-to-end encryption, and prior temporary classification of Max as spyware by Cloudflare.