The Supreme Court’s Position
The Supreme Court of Russia confirmed: negotiations conducted via messaging apps (WhatsApp, Telegram, and others) may be recognised as a written agreement when three conditions are met:
- The parties are identifiable — it is clear from the chat who is negotiating (name, position, organisation, phone number, or other identifying information).
- The subject matter is defined — what exactly is being bought, sold, or performed, and in what scope.
- The terms are specific — price, deadline, and key parameters.
The legal basis is Article 434 of the Civil Code: a contract may be concluded “by exchanging documents” through any communication channel, including electronic ones.
What This Means in Practice
If you agreed with a contractor in WhatsApp to carry out renovation work for 300,000 rubles, discussed timelines and the list of works — this may be recognised as a contract. If the contractor fails to perform or performs inadequately, you may go to court with a printout of the chat as evidence of the existence of the agreement and its terms.
The Main Problem: Preservation
The Supreme Court specifically noted the storage risks associated with such correspondence. Unlike a paper contract:
- the messenger may be hacked,
- the account may be blocked or deleted,
- the chat history may be cleared by the other party,
- the app may be deleted from the device,
- messages may be edited (in some messengers).
All of this creates a risk of losing the evidentiary record at the worst possible moment.
How to Properly Preserve Messenger Agreements
Notarial inspection of the chat. A notary inspects the correspondence on the device and draws up a record documenting its contents. This document has the force of notarially certified evidence and cannot be challenged.
Screenshots with metadata. For court use, a printout showing dates, times, and participant identifiers is acceptable. The clearer the identifiers — the better.
Follow up with a paper document. Best practice: after messenger negotiations, draw up and sign a brief paper agreement (an offer and acceptance, or a letter of intent). The messenger chat is the negotiation history; the paper document is the insurance.
Never delete the chat if there is any risk of a dispute. Deleting correspondence by a party who later files a claim may be treated as destruction of evidence.
Who This Matters Most For
Messenger chats as evidence are critically important for:
- freelancers and contractors — if no contract was formalised, the chat may be the only evidence of the terms agreed,
- entrepreneurs who negotiate informally,
- consumers who arranged work or a purchase via a chat with a tradesperson or a shop,
- employees who received a verbal or written promise from an employer via a messaging app.
Read Also
- Commercial Litigation: Why It Is the Premier League and Why You Need a Professional
- How to Challenge a Contract: Cases from Our Practice
In a dispute where the evidence is a messenger chat? Contact us for a consultation — we will help preserve the evidence correctly and build a case for court.