Apple has removed two of China’s most popular gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, from its App Store in the country following a direct order from China’s Cyberspace Administration (CAC). While the apps are no longer available for new downloads, users who had previously installed them can still access the platforms. This move is the latest in an ongoing pattern of increasing censorship targeting gay content by Chinese authorities.
According to an Apple spokesperson, the company complied with the law where it operates and removed the two apps from the China App Store based on the mandated order. Earlier this year, Finka was voluntarily withdrawn by its developer from App Stores outside China, while Blued was only available in the Chinese storefront prior to removal. As of 2020, Blued boasted over 49 million registered users, making it one of the country’s leading dating apps for the LGBTQ+ community, while Finka had around 2.7 million users, reflecting the scale of their impact before the removal.
This recent action follows a broader crackdown on queer representation and online presence in China. In 2022, the popular gay dating app Grindr was also removed from Chinese mobile platforms after a CAC campaign targeting content deemed ‘problematic.’ Blued itself had pre-emptively halted new user registrations in July 2025, leading to the emergence of a black market for app accounts. Notably, an international version of Blued named HeeSay remains available outside China, maintaining the app’s global footprint despite domestic restrictions.
China’s censorship extends beyond apps into social media, entertainment, and media. For example, in 2021, WeChat, a dominant messaging platform, deleted numerous LGBTQ+ related accounts including university campus queer rights groups, citing regulatory violations. The government has also censored LGBTQ+ narratives in film and television, altering or removing queer content from both domestic and imported media. Popular culture moments such as Ireland’s Eurovision performance featuring same-sex dancers and LGBTQ+ references in shows like Friends and Netflix’s Arcane have faced cuts in China.
This crackdown is part of a wider policy stance by Chinese authorities to suppress queer visibility and limit expressions of LGBTQIA+ identity. The CAC’s 2021 ban on ‘effeminate’ male characters and established queer relationships in video games exemplifies state efforts to enforce restrictive gender norms and heteronormativity in public culture.
Source: Noah Wire Services
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