Chinese authorities have ordered the removal of two major gay dating applications from mobile app stores across the country, Apple confirmed to AFP on Tuesday.
Same-sex marriage remains illegal in China, and widespread discrimination continues, with activists warning that restrictions on LGBTQ expression have intensified in recent years, particularly under President Xi Jinping’s leadership.
Over the weekend, Chinese social media users noticed that full versions of the dating apps Blued and Finka, both owned by a Hong Kong-based company, had vanished from Apple and Android stores.
“Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only,” an Apple spokesperson told AFP.
The Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), which serves as the government’s top internet regulator and censor, has recently imposed penalties on social media platforms for how they manage content.
“We follow the laws in the countries where we operate,” the Apple spokesperson added.
Earlier this year, the developer of Finka had “chosen to remove the app from storefronts outside China, while Blued was only available in China,” the spokesperson further said.
AFP could not immediately reach the CAC or the owner of the apps for comment.
As of Tuesday, a simplified “express” version of Blued was still available for download in Apple’s Chinese app store.
Outside China, an international version known as HeeSay remains accessible, inviting users to “join 54 million LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide,” according to its Apple store description.
In 2022, popular gay dating app Grindr was similarly removed from Chinese app stores during a CAC content clean-up campaign ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Blued, however, remained available for download at the time.
