Russians Plan Melancholy Version of Instagram after Ban

A web page of the social network "Grustnogram" is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken March 30, 2022. (Reuters)
A web page of the social network "Grustnogram" is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken March 30, 2022. (Reuters)
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Russians Plan Melancholy Version of Instagram after Ban

A web page of the social network "Grustnogram" is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken March 30, 2022. (Reuters)
A web page of the social network "Grustnogram" is seen on a smartphone in this illustration taken March 30, 2022. (Reuters)

A black and white, melancholy alternative to Instagram that asks users to post sad pictures of themselves may launch in Russia this week, its creators said, to express sadness at the loss of popular services such as the US photo sharing platform.

Russia restricted access to Instagram from March 14 and subsequently found its owner Meta Platforms Inc guilty of "extremist activities", as Moscow battles to control information flows with Big Tech after it sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Instagram said the decision to block it would affect 80 million users in Russia. Although people can still sometimes access the photo-sharing platform using a Virtual Private Network, domestic alternatives have started appearing, the latest being "Grustnogram", or "Sadgram" in English.

"Post sad pictures of yourself, show this to your sad friends, be sad together," a message on the platform's website read.

An image of the app's planned user interface showed a woman in a fur coat standing in front of St. Basil's Cathedral on Moscow's Red Square. The search bar tells users to search for sad compatriots.

Instead of Instagram's heart-shaped "like" button, Grustnogram offers a broken heart and the option to "be sad".

"We are very sad that many high quality and popular services are stopping their work in Russia for various reasons," Afisha Daily quoted Alexander Tokarev, one of the service's founders as saying. "We created Grustnogram to grieve about this together and support each other."

Tokarev said four people, including two freelance programmers, were behind the project, and said he expected the application to appear on Google Play by the end of the week, and later on the App Store.

Rossgram, an imitation of Instagram in name, design and color scheme, was set to launch this week, but its founders only succeeded in publishing a video of a prototype hours after the scheduled launch time.



SDAIA Receives Recognition for Innovative Projects at WSIS Summit in Geneva

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
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SDAIA Receives Recognition for Innovative Projects at WSIS Summit in Geneva

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA
SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields - SPA

The Saudi Data & AI Authority (SDAIA) received certificates for its nominated projects, which were recognized among the best entries at the 2025 World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes held in Geneva, Switzerland, highlighting SDAIA’s innovative contributions to the fields of data and artificial intelligence (AI).

SDAIA’s nominated projects represented a distinguished set of technological initiatives that demonstrated innovation, relevance, and impact in their respective fields.

Out of 973 submissions from various countries, they were chosen after an expert evaluation conducted by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), SPA reported.

The nominated projects included the government cloud-computing platform “Deem,” which provides integrated and flexible cloud services for government entities; the “Nafath” application for biometric identity verification; the “Serti” service within the “Tawakkalna” app that enables users to display their certified academic qualifications; the “Tahseen” project, which uses AI to restore and enhance historical media; and the “Allam” and “Sawtak” projects, both of which represent a significant leap in supporting and processing Arabic using large language models and speech recognition technologies.

These achievements reflect the Kingdom’s commitment, through SDAIA, to reinforcing its global standing as a trusted authority in data and AI, advancing the national digital transformation agenda, and supporting the goals of Saudi Vision 2030. They also contribute to enhancing the Kingdom’s regional and international competitiveness in technology and innovation.