Two popular gay dating platforms removed from app stores in China

Apple has confirmed it has removed China's two most popular gay dating apps – Blued and Finka – from its app store in the country following orders from authorities.

“We comply with the laws of the countries in which we operate. Based on orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China store only,” an Apple spokesperson said.

The move has caused concern among the LGBT community in the country.

The BBC has contacted the Chinese Embassy in Washington and the companies behind both apps for comment.

According to the BBC, a “lite” version of the Blued app is still available in Chinese app stores. Some other gay and bisexual dating apps are still available in the country, such as Jicco and Jack'd.

Blued is one of the most popular gay dating apps in China, with tens of millions of downloads.

Apple operates a separate app store in China to comply with the country's strict internet laws. Popular apps such as Instagram and WhatsApp are not available in China.

Users of Android devices there use locally adapted versions of the operating system, since the Google Play Store is also blocked in China.

Members of the LGBT community expressed concern about the removal of Dish and Finky, with one saying: “I hope straight politicians can understand that love is rare and not something shameful or unspeakable.”

In 2022, the popular American gay dating app Grindr was removed from the Apple App Store in China shortly after the Cyberspace Administration of China began cracking down on content it deemed illegal and inappropriate.

The following year, the Chinese government announced new rules requiring all apps serving domestic users to register for licenses, resulting in many foreign apps being removed from the web.

The internet regulator said the rules were designed to “promote the standardized and healthy development of the internet industry.”

homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, although same-sex marriage remains unrecognized.

Human rights groups including the Beijing LGBT Center and ShanghaiPride have ceased their activities in China in recent years.