Hong Kong/Beijing
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Two of China’s most popular gay dating apps have disappeared from the country’s app stores, raising fears of a wider crackdown on LGBTQ+ groups and online content.
Blued and Finka were not available on Apple’s App Store as of Tuesday, and the apps had been removed from the locally adapted platform serving Android devices.
The Google Play Store app is blocked in China as part of a vast government censorship apparatus known as the “Great Firewall.”
China operates the world’s most extensive online censorship and surveillance regime, stamping out political dissent and criticism of the ruling Communist Party’s leadership and ideology, including protests against feminine depictions of men in pop culture.
China’s LGBTQ+ community has faced increased repression since Xi Jinping came to power more than a decade ago. Authorities have stepped up a crackdown on what they see as the undue influence of Western values, with Pride parades canceled, same-sex themed movies and TV shows banned, and WeChat, China’s most popular messaging app, shutting down dozens of LGBTQ accounts.
There has been no official announcement about the removal of apps from Chinese app stores, as regulators in China regularly remove content without explanation. But a person familiar with the matter told CNN it appears to be related to compliance issues.
CNN has reached out to Apple, Blued, Finka and the Cyberspace Administration of China for comment.
The apps have been accused of hosting pornography and “vulgar content” on their platforms, officials said.
Apple has removed the app from its Chinese store following a request from China’s internet regulator, technology website Wired reported.
“Based on orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps from Chinese store shelves only,” the phone maker said in a statement to Wired, adding, “We comply with the laws of the countries in which we operate.”
Blued’s international version, HeeSay, remains searchable in app stores outside of China, but Finka only operates within the country.
These apps are extremely popular, with Blued reporting 54 million registered users and Finka 2.7 million worldwide in 2020, according to state media CGTN.
The recent narrowing of the LGBTQ+ field stems from the US Supreme Court’s refusal to review the landmark case that recognized same-sex marriage. But the Trump administration has been cutting back on federal diversity programs while increasing pressure on the private sector to halt similar efforts.
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997, but does not recognize same-sex marriage.
This is not the first time China has regulated gay dating apps. Grindr, which targets international markets, was removed from China’s mobile app stores in 2022 due to difficulties complying with new privacy laws.
Blued was launched in 2012 to provide a more approachable alternative to the local market, and continued to operate alongside rival Finka, which targeted a younger demographic.
Blued’s parent company BlueCity acquired Finka in 2020, a year after its debut.
One user, surnamed Chao, told CNN that the two apps have helped him meet friends, especially in less internationalized parts of the country where gay gatherings are almost non-existent.
“I feel like there weren’t that many offline spaces for the gay community to begin with, and now that online spaces are being restricted, I feel like the community space is getting smaller and smaller,” said the 30-year-old, who asked to only give his family’s first name for fear of speaking out to authorities.
It is unclear whether the removal from the Chinese app store is permanent.
Sources interviewed by CNN said a return is possible if companies take steps to comply with Chinese regulators, but they are not optimistic, citing the harsh “ideological environment.”
“The situation is tough right now,” the source said, adding that Brood will likely need to “lay low and further transform” in order to survive.
