Apple removes Blued and Finka from China stores following government order, continuing crackdown on LGBTQ expression in the country.
BEIJING: Chinese authorities have ordered the removal of two popular gay dating apps from mobile application stores in the country.
Apple confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that it removed Blued and Finka from its Chinese storefront following an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China.
“Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only,” an Apple spokesperson stated.
The apps share a Hong Kong-based owner and had disappeared from both Apple and Android stores over the weekend.
China’s cyberspace administration serves as the government’s national internet regulator and top censor.
“We follow the laws in the countries where we operate,” the Apple spokesperson added.
Same-sex marriage remains illegal in China, with discrimination against LGBTQ individuals widespread across the country.
Activists report that suppression of LGBTQ expression has expanded significantly in recent years, particularly under President Xi Jinping’s leadership.
The developer of Finka had previously elected to remove the app from storefronts outside China earlier this year.
Blued was available only in China before its recent removal from Chinese app stores.
An express version of Blued remained available for download from Apple’s Chinese app store on Tuesday.
An international version called HeeSay remained accessible outside China, claiming to serve “54 million LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide.”
This removal follows the 2022 deletion of popular gay dating app Grindr from Chinese stores.
That removal coincided with a CAC clean-up campaign conducted before the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Blued had remained available for download during that previous crackdown period.
AFP was unable to immediately reach the CAC or the apps’ owner for comment on the recent removals. – AFP
