Two popular gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, have been mysteriously removed from the Apple and Android app stores in China, sparking widespread concern among the LGBT community. The move has left many users worried about a potential further crackdown on online spaces for sexual minorities.
Blued, which boasts over 40 million registered users worldwide, is China's most popular dating app for gay men. Despite homosexuality being legal in the country, open displays of LGBT identity have been increasingly pushed underground. The app's parent company had acquired Finka, another prominent dating platform, in 2020. Both apps were still available for download from their official websites.
Apple explained that it followed Chinese laws and had removed the apps from its China storefront only, citing an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. This move is part of a broader trend of censorship in the country, where international dating apps like Grindr and Tinder are already blocked. Western social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are also unavailable to Chinese users.
LGBT civil society organisations have been forced to close in recent years, with Shanghai Pride, the country's largest pride event, being suspended in 2020. A founder of an LGBT community organisation expressed shock at the removals, saying that online spaces for sexual minorities were shrinking and wondering if apps like Blued contributed to social stability.
The move has sparked concern among internet users, who have taken to social media platforms such as WeChat to express their dismay. One 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 future of both apps remains uncertain, but the removal has raised fears of further censorship and crackdowns on online spaces for LGBT individuals in China.
Blued, which boasts over 40 million registered users worldwide, is China's most popular dating app for gay men. Despite homosexuality being legal in the country, open displays of LGBT identity have been increasingly pushed underground. The app's parent company had acquired Finka, another prominent dating platform, in 2020. Both apps were still available for download from their official websites.
Apple explained that it followed Chinese laws and had removed the apps from its China storefront only, citing an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. This move is part of a broader trend of censorship in the country, where international dating apps like Grindr and Tinder are already blocked. Western social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram are also unavailable to Chinese users.
LGBT civil society organisations have been forced to close in recent years, with Shanghai Pride, the country's largest pride event, being suspended in 2020. A founder of an LGBT community organisation expressed shock at the removals, saying that online spaces for sexual minorities were shrinking and wondering if apps like Blued contributed to social stability.
The move has sparked concern among internet users, who have taken to social media platforms such as WeChat to express their dismay. One 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 future of both apps remains uncertain, but the removal has raised fears of further censorship and crackdowns on online spaces for LGBT individuals in China.
. It's like they're just disappearing into thin air! I mean, I know China can be strict when it comes to certain things, but this is getting ridiculous. We need to support these apps and the people who use them 
. It's not like they're doing anything wrong – just being themselves and finding love online 
. And what's with all the censorship? Can't we just be free to express ourselves and connect with others without fear of reprisal? 
I'm thinking of making a change and switching to those other apps, but it's not the same as having Blued back 
. We need to make some noise about this and show our support for the LGBT community 
.
! I mean, Blued is literally China's most popular gay dating app, and yet they can just remove it from the app stores because... Chinese laws? Like, what even is that? 
It's like, you have a right to exist and express yourself online too, you know?
It's like they're trying to erase the LGBT community from existence.
It's not too much to ask, right?
China's already got a reputation for cracking down on free speech and online freedom, so it's not surprising that apps like Blued and Finka were taken off the market. But 40 million users worldwide can't just disappear into thin air... 
It's gotta be a big deal for LGBT folks who rely on these platforms to connect with others.
But hey, I guess you can't just pick and choose which Chinese laws you wanna follow, right? 
Still, it's weird that the apps were available on their own websites but not through Apple or Google. It feels like there's a whole other level of censorship going on here.
. It's not even about the content or anything, it's about freedom of speech... or whatever you call it in China 
. And now we got these LGBT orgs closing down, and it's like, what's next? I mean, I'm all for respect for everyone's lifestyle choices, but come on! You can't just silence people because they're different. It's not right 
. its not like blued was doin anythin' wrong, it's jus a dating app 
anyway, blued had 40 million users worldwide & its parent company got Finka in 2020... sounds like a legit business move to me. but idk maybe i'm just a clueless noob 
Apple's all like "we followed the law" 
but it feels like they're just bowing down to China's rules 
. I mean, homosexuality is legal in China but... but what about freedom of speech? 
online spaces are shrinking and it's really scaring the LGBT community 
. I'm so worried about all these apps being blocked & people losing access to them 
. It's like they're hiding from themselves 
. What if Blued was the only place where gay men in China could connect with each other? 
and now these dating apps are gone, what's next? like, we all know tinder & grindr got blocked already, what a nightmare... this just proves that china has no tolerance for anything different or nonconformist 
. and to make matters worse, western social media platforms are already blocked there. i'm all for respecting local laws and stuff but this feels like censorship on steroids 
. the fact that these apps were available just last year makes you wonder if they're trying to suppress people's freedom of expression. 
i mean i get that china has its own laws and stuff but come on 40 million registered users worldwide dont just vanish into zero users 
It's not like these apps are promoting anything that would harm Chinese society...they're just giving a platform for people to be themselves. And now, with Shanghai Pride getting cancelled and LGBT orgs shutting down, it feels like the government is literally suffocating online spaces for minorities 
I'm seeing a huge spike in Blued users trying to download the app through VPNs already 
. With 40 million registered users worldwide, it's crazy to think they'd just take them down 
. We need to keep an eye on these stats, like 
the number of LGBT-related searches on Baidu increasing by 200% in the past year alone