Blued and Finka were removed from Apple’s App Store.
LGBTQ+ rights and acceptance have taken another hit in China, with Apple removing two of the countries biggest LGBTQ+ dating apps. Wired reports that Blued and Finka are no longer available on the iOS App Store or certain Android App Stores following orders from the Cyberspace Administration of China, the country’s internet regulator and censor.
Apple told Wired that it must “follow the laws in the countries where we operate.” Both dating apps were available solely in China, where LGBTQ+ dating apps are minimal — Grindr, for instance, hasn’t been available on Apple since 2022. Blued exists internationally under the name HeeSay.
China has increasingly cracked down on LGBTQ+ individuals’ rights and groups in recent years, allegedly shuttering large organizations like the Beijing LGBT Center in 2023. For reasons unknown, Blued previously stopped new registrations this past July, with individuals buying second-hand accounts to use the app. However, it reopened in the middle of August.
I mean, what was the rationale for the regulation? Its not like enshitification of apps is some novel event unique to American-centric businesses. Did Blued/Finka become a cesspool of degenerate AI slop and scam ads like so many other popular social media platforms? Is there any legitimate reason why this company was targeted beyond “China hates gays”?
Did the Apple Executives get handed a serious list of problems with the app and choose to de-platform it rather than try and patch a sinking ship? Or is Cook just a cuck for Chinese Communism?
Cheers to that. But if you’re side-loading everything, you’re not really worried about what’s hosted on the Apple Store to begin with. Why is an executive decision to delist an app from a proprietary service a problem?