Apple has commented on the removal of Max, the Russian “national” messaging app, from the App Store.
In a statement to BBC Russia, the company said Max had been pulled from the App Store in accordance with sanctions compliance rules. Apple said it operates in accordance with the laws of the jurisdictions where it does business.
The company did not say which sanctions prompted the decision.
Max disappeared from the App Store on June 3. The following day, it emerged that push notifications for calls and messages in the Max messenger had stopped reaching users’ devices. At that point, Apple had issued no statement about the app’s removal from the App Store. Max said it was working to restore the app to the App Store.
In February, Yulia Navalnaya called for Max to be removed from both the App Store and Google Play.
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