Is Viber banned in Russia? Blocked since December 2024 and how to keep using it in 2026

Viber is officially blocked in Russia: Roskomnadzor announced the restriction on 13 December 2024, and in 2026 the block is still in force. Without a VPN messages don't arrive, media doesn't load, calls don't connect. Here's what happened, what you can do, and whether it's worth holding on to Viber at all.

Quick fix. Viber works through a VPN with a foreign exit. With Surok the messenger opens on your phone and computer, while Russian banks and Gosuslugi keep working without disconnecting. The first three days are free.

What happened

On 13 December 2024 Roskomnadzor said it had restricted access to Viber "due to violations of Russian legal requirements for organisers of information distribution". The agency claimed scammers used the messenger, including for fake "calls from the bank", and that it was used to recruit for sabotage and sell drugs. By then Viber had accumulated more than 1.8 million rubles in fines for not removing banned content.

Unlike YouTube, there's no argument over terminology here: Viber is in the registry, providers received the order, the block is full and official.

What exactly doesn't work

• Messages sit with an endless clock icon and never deliver.
• Photos, videos and voice notes don't load.
• Calls don't connect or drop after a few seconds.
• Registering a new number fails: the confirmation code never arrives.
• The desktop version doesn't sync with the phone.

It's the same on mobile data and at home, because the block is applied across all carriers.

How to use Viber in 2026

1. Turn on a VPN with an exit outside Russia. Any protocol with masking will do: plain OpenVPN and WireGuard get cut in Russia too.
2. Fully close Viber and reopen it with the VPN already on. The app caches server addresses and without a restart may keep knocking on the old routes.
3. On a computer Viber Desktop uses the system VPN. A browser extension won't help here, you need an app.
4. If calls drop, change the exit country: the servers closest to you, in Poland and Germany, usually give the lowest latency.

Surok routes Russian sites directly, so you can leave the VPN on: banks, marketplaces and Gosuslugi keep opening.

Viber Out and business accounts

Paid Viber Out calls work through a VPN, but you can't pay with a Russian card: Rakuten, Viber's owner, cut off payments from Russia back in 2022. Business accounts and broadcasts via Viber for Russian companies are effectively dead: customers without a VPN won't see the messages.

What to switch to

If you'd rather not install a VPN for a single messenger, it makes sense to move to wherever your contacts are. Telegram has been throttled since February 2026, but it works, and through a personal proxy it works without a VPN. WhatsApp has also been unavailable without a VPN since February 2026. Russian messengers work without restrictions, but your contacts abroad are unlikely to be there.

To keep your chats: Viber can export history to a file through its backup settings. You can't import it into another messenger, but the archive stays with you.

In short

Viber has been blocked in Russia since 13 December 2024, officially and completely. It opens only through a VPN with traffic masking. If you need Viber to stay in touch with relatives abroad, the easiest way is to install Surok: three days free, and Russian sites don't break while the VPN is on.