Chinese regulators ordered the removal of two popular gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, from app stores in China. Apple said it complied with an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China and that removals applied only to the China storefront; already-installed copies and the apps' websites remained accessible. Blued, founded in 2012 and claiming over 40 million users, acquired Finka in 2020. Observers view the move as part of a broader pattern of restrictions on LGBTQ visibility in China.
China Removes Popular Gay Dating Apps Blued and Finka from App Stores amid Wider Crackdown
Chinese regulators ordered the removal of two popular gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, from app stores in China. Apple said it complied with an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China and that removals applied only to the China storefront; already-installed copies and the apps' websites remained accessible. Blued, founded in 2012 and claiming over 40 million users, acquired Finka in 2020. Observers view the move as part of a broader pattern of restrictions on LGBTQ visibility in China.
04:53 AM, 11/13/2025Society
China removes Blued and Finka from app stores
Nov. 12 — Chinese authorities have ordered the removal of two well-known gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, from app distribution channels in China, in what observers say is part of a broader rollback of LGBTQ+ visibility.
Apple told Wired it acted "based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China," and that the removals applied "from the China storefront only."
According to reports from the BBC and The Guardian, both apps were unavailable on Apple's China storefront and on Android distribution channels as of Tuesday. Multiple accounts noted that users who had already installed the apps could still access them, and both services remained reachable through their official websites.
Apple added that it "follow[s] the laws in the countries where we operate." At the time of publication, neither Blued nor Finka had issued a public statement responding to the removals.
Blued, founded in China in 2012, now reports more than 40 million global users, primarily gay men. In 2020 the company that owns Blued acquired Finka, bringing the two services under the same corporate umbrella.
The removals put Blued and Finka alongside other platforms that face limits or blocks in China, including Grindr, Tinder, Facebook and Instagram. While homosexuality is not a crime in China, social stigma remains strong and recent policy shifts and enforcement actions have driven much LGBTQ life out of the public eye.
China's government long maintained an official stance of neither supporting nor opposing LGBTQ+ relationships, but recent years have seen more active restrictions on gay groups and activities. Shanghai Pride, the country's largest pride event, was suspended in 2020. Observers also point to the 2022 cancellation of some Taiwan Pride activities as an example of Beijing's broader political and cultural influence in the region.
The move coincided with other cultural actions: in one recent case distributors edited a film for Chinese release to change an on-screen gay relationship into a heterosexual one, illustrating how censorship and commercial decisions can affect LGBTQ representation.