Over the weekend, Chinese social media users noticed that full versions of the Blued and Finka apps, which have the same Hong Kong-based owner, had disappeared from Apple and Android stores.
“By order of the China Cyberspace Administration (CCA), we have removed these apps from stores in China,” an Apple spokesperson told AFP, referring to the Chinese government’s internet regulator and its chief censor. An Apple spokesperson added: “We follow the law in the countries where we operate.”
Months ago, Finka’s creator “decided to remove this app from stores outside China, while Blued was only available in China,” the spokesperson said.
Agence France-Presse was unable to obtain statements from the ACCC or the owners of the applications.
These applications, according to the technology news website WiredIt appears that it continues to work for users in the country who have already downloaded it.
In addition, an express version of Blued is still available for download in Apple’s App Store in China, according to AFP. Likewise, outside of China you can download an international version of Blued, called HeeSay.
HeeSay claims to have 54 million users from the LGBTQ+ community worldwide, according to the app’s description in the Apple Store.
Popular gay dating app Grindr was removed from Chinese stores in 2022, as part of a purge by the ACC ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. At that time, Blued remained available for download.
Same-sex marriage is illegal in China, where activists say efforts to suppress LGBT expression have increased in recent years, especially under President Xi Jinping.
RML (AFP, Wired, Pink News, Times of India)
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