China has ordered the removal of two popular gay dating apps from its app stores, deepening its crackdown on LGBTQ expression under President Xi Jinping.
Apple confirmed to AFP that it removed the full versions of Blued and Finka, both owned by a Hong Kong-based company, following an official order from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC).
According to Apple, the decision affects only China’s local storefront. “Based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from the China storefront only,” an Apple spokesperson said.
The CAC serves as China’s national internet regulator and censorship agency. It has recently intensified its control over online content, penalizing social media platforms for posts that challenge government narratives or promote unapproved social causes.
The removal follows growing censorship of LGBTQ platforms in recent years. Activists say China’s government is tightening restrictions on gender and sexual expression, discouraging public discussion of LGBTQ rights.
Same-sex marriage remains illegal in China, and activists continue to face harassment. Under Xi’s leadership, online spaces for queer communities have been targeted or shut down entirely.
Over the weekend, users noticed both apps had disappeared from Apple and Android stores. Blued, once China’s largest gay dating app with millions of users, had remained a key online space for gay men before the ban.
An Apple spokesperson added that Finka’s developer had earlier removed the app from international stores, while Blued was only available in China before its removal.
As of Tuesday, a simplified version of Blued remained available for Chinese users. However, its international version, HeeSay, continues to operate abroad, promoting itself as a platform connecting “54 million LGBTQ+ individuals worldwide.”
AFP reports that Grindr, another popular gay dating app, was removed from Chinese app stores in 2022. That move coincided with a major CAC campaign to “clean up” online platforms ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
The latest removals reinforce Beijing’s broader efforts to silence communities seen as “incompatible” with its traditionalist ideology.
Neither the CAC nor the apps’ owner has publicly commented on the government’s latest directive.