BANGKOK (AP) 鈥� Apple said it has pulled two of China鈥檚 biggest gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, under pressure from Chinese authorities, in the latest sign of a tightening grip on the LGBTQ+ community.
An spokesperson said in a statement that the company removed the two dating apps from China 鈥渂ased on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China鈥�, without further elaborating.
鈥淲e follow the laws in the countries where we operate,鈥� the spokesperson told The Associated Press.
A check by The Associated Press on Tuesday found that the two apps are not available on Apple鈥檚 app store in China, although an 鈥渆xpress鈥� version of Blued could still be found. It was unclear what the difference is between the full and express versions or if an Android version might be available.
Blued was available 鈥渙nly in China,鈥� Apple said. Finka鈥檚 developer 鈥渆lected to remove the app鈥� outside of China earlier this year, the company added.
Another popular gay dating app, Grindr, was pulled from Apple鈥檚 app store in China in 2022.
China鈥檚 LGBTQ+ community and advocacy groups are under intensifying pressure from authorities, even though the country decriminalized homosexuality in 1997. Some LGBTQ+ groups have been in recent years in China and activism has been constrained.
Blued and Finka have the same parent company, BlueCity, a China-founded company that focuses on the LGBTQ+ community in China and abroad. BlueCity was delisted from the Nasdaq in 2022, when it was taken private.
Last year, Apple also reportedly removed apps including WhatsApp and Threads from its app store in China under an order by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
鈥淎mong all foreign tech companies that provide services to Chinese users, Apple is probably the one which is most willing to comply with Chinese internet regulations,鈥� said George Chen, partner and co-chair of digital practice at The Asia Group.
Apple 鈥渞arely pushes back on Chinese government鈥檚 takedown requests as Chinese markets,鈥� including sales of iPhones, is 鈥渢oo important鈥� for them, Chen added.
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AP writers Kelvin Chan in London and Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this story.
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