The first pancake is lumpy
During its demonstration, Rossgram moved away from the previous logo, replacing it with a stock image. Yet the update did not go smoothly. The new version drew scrutiny after observers alleged that the logo resembled the Beats Electronics symbol, albeit inverted and tinted with the colors associated with Instagram, a brand owned by Meta. On the official site, the logo remained unchanged, which raised further questions about branding decisions.
After Alexander Zobov presented the interface and how the application operated, attentive viewers raised several legitimate questions. For instance, when a user uploads a photo, the interface invites the creator to set a price, with prices displayed in dollars. This pricing feature sparked discussions about monetization and platform economics.
The Rossgram prototype also introduced a Stories download option. During exploration, some details appeared tied to localization quirks common in some markets. Stories labeled as published three hours ago appeared as “3 Seconds Ago” or “3 Hours Ago” with inconsistent capitalization and occasional misspellings.
Users were intrigued by a function that allegedly allowed uploading videos from third party sources such as YouTube, Dailymotion, and Vimeo. However, observers noted that similar interoperability was not yet present for rival platforms like RuTube and VK Video on the native Instagram service.
Developers had projected a public launch for Rossgram in April 2022, outlining a roadmap that would bring the app to a broader audience.
Excitement and PR
Industry analyst Eldar Murtazin commented that Rossgram’s distribution kit appeared to be a malicious file and was blocked by Google Drive when shared with him. He described the effort as likely PR-driven and not sufficiently convincing, noting a lack of development experience after constraints around an Instagram ban.
Digital expert Konstantin Karpov offered a cautious take, stating that while building a service similar to Instagram is possible, creating a truly competitive product presents a much greater challenge. He emphasized that large platforms rely on diverse technical solutions to support millions of concurrent users, and that replicating those capabilities takes years of work.
Igor Bederov, head of information and analytical research at T.Hunter, pointed out that user sentiment was wary of the new application. He explained that users face a confusing install and worry about rapid development timelines and potential data leaks. Bederov cautioned that many such projects hinge on securing user data through open source components and open engines, which may introduce vulnerabilities.
According to Bederov, the attention around a domestic analogue to a major American social network could drive interest in the app while simultaneously raising concerns about security and data protection.
Data theft and hacking concerns
In late March, beta testers received emails containing an APK linked to Rossgram that redirected to the project’s site upon launch. The Android version of the rival’s app weighed more than 40MB, whereas Rossgram stood at about 3MB, a size divergence similar to other lightweight installers.
Bederov suggested that the hurried release might be aimed at collecting user data rather than delivering a functioning product. He argued that a mobile version of a site could achieve similar outcomes without the added overhead of a standalone app.
A warning surfaced in the Rossgram community on VKontakte about a fake Rossgram app on the Play Store. The post urged users not to download the unofficial version, which reportedly remained accessible to a substantial audience, and carried a poor rating. Questions about the company’s response to this situation persisted, especially given the use of the brand and organization’s name.
Commenters described the fake app as a scam and debated whether the project was designed to generate hype or financial gain. Some noted that new social networks often emerge to fill perceived gaps in the market, but that a truly unique and valuable product remains scarce. The general sentiment suggested that simply copying established apps would unlikely satisfy rising user expectations.
As the discussion moved forward, observers noted that there are social networks with broad capabilities for broadcasting, uploading, and messaging across multiple platforms, including channels like Telegram, which can host live streams, photos, videos, and text updates.
Pyramid on the internet
Arseniy Shcheltsin, CEO of ANO Digital Platforms, weighed in on the Rossgram hype in his Telegram channel. He argued that two PR professionals leveraged existing demand, created a landing page on a low-cost hosting service, and presented a plan that appeared miraculous to many. He described the outcome as a premature launch that drew journalists and the public to the idea, not the actual product.
Shcheltsin criticized the approach as a joke and a hype scheme, noting that a name without proper focus testing, a non-existent system, and a subpar landing page could mislead potential users. In the wake of this hype, new attempts to emulate Instagram emerged under different names such as Now and Sadnogram.
The expert warned that the combination of high expectations and weak execution led to a data leakage risk, the creation of fake pages and apps, and broader concerns about data security. The overall takeaway was that promising a miracle without delivering a solid, usable product tends to backfire in the long run, especially when user data is involved.