Withdrawal of Blued and Finka raises fears of further crackdowns on LGBT rights amid growing restrictions
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.”
