Two of China’s most popular gay dating apps have disappeared from app stores in the country, raising fears of a further crackdown on LGBT communities.
As of Tuesday, Blued and Finka were unavailable on Apple’s app store and several Android platforms. Users who had already downloaded the apps appeared to still be able to use them.
Both apps were still available for download from their official websites. The apps have not released public statements about the removals.
In a statement to Wired, Apple said: “We follow the laws in the countries where we operate. Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only.”
In accordance with the country’s laws, Apple operates a separate app store in China. Several popular apps such as Facebook, Instagram and other western social media platforms are unavailable to Chinese users. International dating apps such as Grindr and Tinder are also blocked.
Founded in 2012 in China, Blued is the country’s most popular dating app for gay men. It has more than 40 million registered users worldwide. In recent years, it has diversified into other services such as livestreaming, but it is still primarily considered an app for gay men.
In 2020, Blued’s parent company acquired Finka.
Homosexuality is legal in China. But after decades of opening and liberalisation, open displays of LGBT identity have been pushed further underground. LGBT civil society organisations have been forced to close and Shanghai Pride, the country’s biggest pride event, was suspended in 2020. In September, a horror film was digitally altered to turn a gay couple into a straight couple for its release in China.
A founder of an LGBT community organisation, who asked to remain anonymous over fears about his safety, said he was “extremely shocked” to see Blued and Finka removed from the app stores.
“The living space for sexual minorities has been shrinking over the past few years … but hearing this news now, it caught me off guard that online spaces are also shrinking,” he said.
“Don’t apps like Blued contribute to social stability and harmony? Why remove them from app stores? I find it difficult to understand their underlying thinking,” he added.
It is not clear why the apps were removed or whether it is to be a permanent move. But internet users immediately expressed their concern.
One WeChat user wrote that Blued “made countless people realise for the first time that they weren’t alone; it brought a group from the margins to being seen”.
The Cyberspace Administration of China could not be reached for comment.
Additional research by Lillian Yang