In a move that outraged the LGBTQ community in China, Apple has removed two of China’s most popular gay dating applications, Blued and Finka, from its App Store. The move came after a Chinese government order.
Informing about the removal of two gay dating apps from Apple’s Chinese App Store, an Apple spokesperson said, “We follow the laws of 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.”
A BBC report, however, says that a “lite” version of Blued is still available on Chinese app stores. Besides, other gay dating apps like Jicco and Jack’d are also available for download.
A similar crackdown was reported in 2022, when US-based gay dating app Grindr was forced to be removed from Apple’s Chinese App Store. The Cyberspace Administration of China had launched a crackdown on content it deemed inappropriate and illegal.
Notably, homosexuality has been decriminalised in China since 1997, although same sex marriages are not legally recognised.
