![\"Russian](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1765438809_95_0x0.jpg\")
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Putin versus iMessage \u2014 round one to Apple.<\/p>\n
Getty Images<\/p>\n
Russia is cracking down on U.S. technology. WhatsApp is being phased out<\/a> for \u201cviolations of the law and the use of the service for illegal activities,\u201d while the country\u2019s telecoms regulator has also now banned FaceTime. Roskomnadzor says the video calling platform \u201cis being used to organise and carry out terrorist attacks in the country, recruit perpetrators, and commit fraud and other crimes against Russian citizens.”<\/p>\n ForbesGmail, Outlook, Teams And Slack Users Now At Risk From \u2018Uncontrolled Threat\u2019By Zak Doffman<\/a><\/p>\n But not iMessage. Despite even Snapchat being hit with new restrictions, it appears that Apple\u2019s in-house, fully encrypted messenger has escaped unscathed. Quipping that \u201cI\u2019m sure the crime rate in Russia will soon plummet,\u201d John Gruber posed the obvious question on his Daring Fireball<\/a> blog. \u201cI\u2019m curious why iMessage isn\u2019t blocked too.\u201d<\/p>\n The likely answer came via Mastodon<\/a>. It seems Apple managed to sneak iMessage in under the noses of the mobile network operators when it launched, undermining their own SMS platforms. iMessage runs on the same platform as iPhone\u2019s push notifications, and these were a major USP back in the day. You can\u2019t have one without the other.<\/p>\n Apparently, that\u2019s the same reason push notifications works on messaging only in-flight Wi-Fi, even when the apps behind those notifications are not connected.<\/p>\n Watch this space. Encrypted messaging is now facing a hailstorm of proposed regulation and legislation, and not just in Russia. Europe is progressing its Chat Control,<\/a> which seems to be the beginning of a long and worrying thread for the EU. While the U.K., fresh from its encrypted iCloud<\/a> and porn<\/a> bans, now wants to monitor cloud storage<\/a>.<\/p>\n iMessage is a great platform. Its cross-platform, fully end-to-end encrypted architecture is arguably the best in the business. But it still has a gaping hole in its security. There is no way to send a secure message between iphones and Androids, almost a decade after WhatsApp made that possible. It\u2019s now 2025, and that needs to change.<\/p>\n