VK and Max searches surged after app-store removals

Searches for VK and Max surged after the apps disappeared from major mobile app stores. According to Wordstat, the number of searches for Max rose by nearly 1.8 times during the first three days after its removal from Google Play, compared with the previous comparable period.

Searches for “download Max” and “download max” increased by 82% and 59%, respectively. Interest in downloading the messenger climbed 79%, while searches for VKontakte rose 46%. Other VK services saw a similar pattern: interest in downloading Odnoklassniki nearly doubled.

Search growth followed app-store removals

The increase was driven neither by a feature update nor by an advertising campaign. Instead, it followed the disappearance of the apps from the two main distribution channels for mass-market users. When an app is removed from the usual installation path, users typically turn to search engines before visiting the developer’s website, alternative stores, or catalogs such as RuStore.

Users can still access the services through web versions. Android users can also download them from alternative catalogs.

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On June 25, Apple removed VKontakte, Odnoklassniki, Dzen, VK Video, VK Music, VK Dating, and Mail.ru from the App Store. Max had disappeared from Google Play at the beginning of June, giving the search spike a clear trigger and a measurable trace in Wordstat data.

Marta Barinova is a news editor specializing in software analysis, streaming services, and changes to global technology-platform policies. She covers Windows updates, feature changes in Spotify and Google, and antitrust issues involving app stores. She has written more than 140 articles.