Russian messengers for staying in touch: Solovo and the other options

Russian messengers solve different problems. Some gather communication, services and payments in one app, others help run public channels, others again are built for work teams. We made Solovo for a more personal circle: family, friends, couples and small groups who need clear chats, calls and shared tasks without complicated setup.

In brief

• Start not with the longest feature list but with your ordinary scenario: messaging the people close to you, a group chat, calls, a channel or a work space.
• Solovo already has private and group chats, voice and video messages, photos, videos, documents, calls and shared task lists.
• A group can be assembled with an invite link, and the service can be used in the mobile app or through the web version.
• It is better to move gradually: test a few everyday actions and keep the previous channel during the trial.
• Corporate administration, single sign-on and hosting on a company server require specialised platforms.

Pick the task first

MAX suits those who need mini-apps, chat bots and built-in payments alongside messaging and calls. VK Messenger is convenient when your circle has already formed on VK: it links VK friends and people from your phone book. TamTam is worth choosing for communication around public and private channels, as well as large chats.

Work communication needs a different toolset. Yandex Messenger works as a service for corporate communication in a closed environment. Pachca builds work around spaces, roles, threads and integrations, while Compass and eXpress offer cloud and on-premise options with corporate management.

Each class has its own strength. For a family, what matters is that relatives can sign in quickly, find the chat and make a call. A channel needs posts and subscribers. For a company, roles, access control, integrations and data retention rules come first.

For family and small groups

In Solovo you do not have to create departments, assign roles or configure a work structure first. You open a conversation with someone close or put together a shared chat, and then talk the usual way: write, record a voice message, send a round video, share a photo or call.

This format suits a family, a group of friends, a couple, neighbours, people on a trip or a small team making informal arrangements. The conversation stays next to the things that come up every day: buying groceries, choosing a meeting place, packing for a journey or reminding each other of something important.

We are not trying to turn a family chat into a heavy project management system. Solovo helps you agree on things and keep simple shared tasks from getting lost. If your group needs corporate policies and employee oversight, it is better to choose a product of that class from the start.

What chats can do

Messaging

Solovo has private conversations and group chats. A message can be answered with a quote, your own text can be edited, and the remark you need forwarded to another chat. In an active group a quote quickly restores context: everyone sees which question you are answering.

Besides text there are voice and round video messages. A voice message is convenient when a thought is easier to say than to type. A round video helps show your face, the view from a window or your surroundings without starting a separate call.

Photos, videos and files

You can send a photo, video or document into a chat. That keeps tickets, a route, holiday pictures and files about a shared task next to the discussion. If an upload is interrupted, the app shows its state and lets you retry.

Links open with a preview, and reactions let you answer without a new message. For livelier conversation there are static and animated stickers. A dark theme is available in the settings, so the interface can match the mode you are used to.

Contacts and statuses

You can give a contact a name that suits you, and it will be visible in the chat list and the conversation. People from your phone book who have recently joined Solovo appear in your contact list. In a conversation you can see when the other person is online or typing.

Access to the phone book is used to find people you know, but you grant the permission yourself. If you would rather not open your contacts straight away, start by inviting one specific person or a test group.

How to put a group together

In a group you can change the name, photo and description, and add or remove members. One chat suits family news, preparing a celebration, a trip, renovation work or weekend plans. Everyone sees the same stream of messages and attachments.

To avoid adding everyone by hand, create an invite link and send it to the people you need. After signing in, a person lands straight in the chosen group. If the link is no longer needed, it can be revoked and a new one issued.

An invitation does not carry history over from another messenger. It only helps gather the same circle of people quickly in a new chat. Important documents, photos and agreements from the old conversation are better saved separately.

Calls

A one-to-one conversation

A voice or video call starts from the chat. You can quickly settle plans, talk to a relative in another city or see someone close when messages no longer replace a live conversation. The call goes over the internet, so quality depends on the network and device at both ends.

Before switching over for good, test the connection where you usually call from: at home, on the move or out of town. Such a test is more useful than a general promise about quality, because it shows how things work on your devices and your network.

A group conversation

Solovo supports group voice and video calls. Up to five people can take part. During a call you can share your screen, switch cameras, add a reaction, raise a hand and see who is speaking.

You can join an active conversation from the group chat. That suits a family call, discussing a trip or a short meeting of a small team. A large conference with recording, moderation and complex access rules needs a corporate platform.

Shared tasks

Solovo has shared task lists. A family can gather purchases, split household chores or prepare for a trip. Everyone sees changes and ticks off completed items, so an agreement is not lost in a long thread.

A task list stays a simple addition to the chat. It does not replace a task tracker with projects, reports, dependencies and roles. Its value is different: a small shared task sits next to the conversation it came from.

Try the list on a real task. Pack for a trip, say, or gather the shopping for a family dinner. Within a few days it will be clear whether ticking off items and following changes suits your group.

How to start

The main Solovo site is solovo.app/. From there you can go to the App Store, Google Play or open the web version. If you would rather not install the app right away, use app.solovo.ru in a browser.

Signing in requires a phone number and an SMS code. The app may offer to paste the code you received so you do not have to type it in. After signing in, open your first conversation and test the actions you repeat every day.

On a computer you can use the web version. A separate catalogue of apps for Windows, macOS and Linux is not offered on the main site at the moment. If a desktop client specifically matters to you, check this point before moving.

Moving without rushing

There is no need to close every previous chat in one day. A short parallel trial shows whether Solovo suits the people close to you, whether notifications arrive and whether calls work reliably in your usual conditions.

A few steps are enough to check:

• Open solovo.app and choose the mobile app or the web version.
• Sign in with your phone number and the SMS code.
• Send a message, a voice message, a photo and the kind of file you actually use.
• Test an ordinary voice or video call.
• Create a group and invite a few people close to you with a link.
• Try a group call and a shared task list on a real task.
• Keep the previous channel during the trial.

We do not claim automatic transfer of your whole history from another messenger. Save the attachments and important agreements you need before moving. Once the group is comfortable with the new chat, you can decide which channel stays the main one.

Security

Messages and calls in Solovo are protected by encryption, and data is encrypted in transit. We do not call that full anonymity and do not promise a specific end-to-end encryption scheme without technical documentation.

The app can be locked with a passcode, and biometrics can be used on a supported device. Automatic locking after the app has been in the background is available. These settings protect access to the app but do not replace a passcode or biometrics on the phone itself.

If you plan to discuss sensitive work information, first check your organisation's policy, the service terms and the data retention requirements. An ordinary consumer chat does not become a corporate system just because traffic is encrypted.

What is not there yet

Solovo is evolving. Secret chats, automatic expense splitting, smart shopping lists and mini-games are still in development. We do not include these in the list of available features and do not suggest building your current scenario on them.

We also do not claim centralised organisation management, employee single sign-on, deployment on a customer's server, audit logging or integrations with corporate security systems. If these requirements are mandatory, check them with specialised work platforms.

Drawing that line helps choose a service without inflated expectations. For family and a small group, clear chats, calls, attachments, invitations and shared tasks are enough. For a company the criteria are broader, and that is fine.

When a different service is the answer

If the people close to you already talk on MAX or VK Messenger and do not want to move, the circle of contacts you already have may matter more than individual features. If you need a public channel with subscribers, look at TamTam or another platform with a developed channel system.

For work spaces, roles, integrations and a closed corporate environment, Yandex Messenger, Pachca, Compass or eXpress will fit. These products solve organisational problems: managing members, controlling access, connecting internal systems and choosing a hosting model.

Solovo does not compete with that class of solution. We focus on personal communication and small groups, where a quick start and familiar actions matter. The choice becomes easier when the scenario is clear first and features are compared afterwards.

Frequently asked questions

Where do I open Solovo?

Start at solovo.app/. It holds the links to the mobile apps and the entry to the web version. The direct address of the web version is app.solovo.ru/.

Do I need a phone number?

Yes. Signing in uses a phone number and an SMS code. After registering you can find people you know through your contacts or invite someone into the right group with a link.

Can I call a group?

Yes. Solovo has group voice and video calls for up to five people. During the conversation you can share your screen, add a reaction, raise a hand and join an active call from the group chat.

Will my old conversations transfer?

We do not claim automatic import of your whole history. An invite link brings people into a new group chat but does not carry messages and attachments over from the previous service. Save important material separately before moving.

Is Solovo suitable for work?

Solovo can be used for talking to a client, an informal small-team chat or a short group call. If a company needs employee roles, single sign-on, corporate integrations, meeting recording or its own server, choose a specialised platform.

Are there ads or a paid subscription?

Solovo has no ads and no paid subscriptions. You can always check the current terms before installing the app.

Start with one chat

Open solovo.app, choose the app or the web version and invite one person close to you. Send a message, a voice message and a photo, then make a call. That is enough to judge Solovo on familiar tasks rather than on a marketing feature list.

If the first conversation feels right, create a group and move one shared task into it. Do not rush to close the old channel. A calm move gives everyone time to adjust and shows which features your family or group of friends genuinely needs.