Apple has officially confirmed the removal of two prominent Chinese gay dating apps, Blued and Finka, from its App Store in China. This action was taken in compliance with an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China. An Apple spokesperson stated, ‘We adhere to the laws of the countries where we operate. Based on the directive from the Cyberspace Administration of China, we have removed these two apps exclusively from the China storefront.’ This decision has sparked significant concern within the LGBT community in China. The BBC has reached out to the companies behind Blued and Finka for their comments. Despite the removal, a ‘lite’ version of Blued remains accessible on Chinese app stores, and other gay and bisexual dating apps like Jicco and Jack’d are still available. Blued, one of the most widely-used gay dating apps in China, boasts tens of millions of downloads. Apple operates a separate app store in China, in line with the country’s stringent internet regulations, which also restrict access to popular apps like Instagram and WhatsApp. Android users in China rely on locally adapted versions of the operating system since the Google Play Store is blocked. Members of the LGBT community have voiced their concerns, with one individual remarking, ‘I hope those heterosexual policymakers can understand that love is rare—it’s not something shameful or unspeakable.’ This incident follows the 2022 removal of the US-based gay dating app Grindr from Apple’s App Store in China, shortly after the Cyberspace Administration of China initiated a crackdown on content deemed illegal and inappropriate. In 2023, the Chinese government introduced new regulations mandating that all apps serving domestic users must register for licenses, leading to the removal of numerous foreign apps. While homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, same-sex marriages remain unrecognized. Advocacy groups such as the Beijing LGBT Center and ShanghaiPride have ceased operations in recent years.