When two dating apps, Blued and Finka, disappeared from the Apple AppStore in China on November 11, a whole world threatened to disappear.
The apps are two of the most popular among China’s LGBT+ community. Blued had been downloaded tens of millions of times, according to the BBC.
In taking them down, the authorities removed two major LGBT+ spaces, leaving little in their place.
“There are still some local apps available, but they are smaller, and they have limited circulation and popularity,” says Bao Hongwei, specialist in China’s queer culture at the University of Nottingham.
Apple said it removed the apps “based on an order from the Cyberspace Administration of China”.
‘A seismic change’
It is not the first time that the authorities have targeted gay dating apps. In 2022, the American app Grindr was retired in China.
The ban on Grindr could be put down to China’s wider dislike of Western apps, which are often accused of being vehicles for foreign influence. But removing Blued and Finka, which were both developed in China, represents a “seismic change in government attitudes towards homegrown LGBT apps”, says Hongwei.
“The Chinese government used to support the business of Blued,” Hongwei says. “The former Chinese Premier Li Keqiang, actually met with the CEO of Blued [in 2012] and it enjoyed a certain legitimacy.”
The disappearance of both Blued and Finka “will affect a lot of LGBT+ people's lives very significantly”, Hongwei adds. “It sends a chilling and very clear message to ordinary LGBT+ people that they can't pursue their own personal interests and desires.”
Erasing gay culture
Evidence of hardening attitudes towards the LGBT+ community in China has been increasing for some time.
Before targeting Blued and Finka, the Chinese authorities led a campaign against authors of the “Boy's Love”, or Danmei, same-sex romance stories, some of which feature explicit love scenes between men.
Several Danmei writers, most of whom are female, have reported being arrested and questioned by the authorities, and in recent months two major Danmei sites have either shut down, or drastically reduced and toned down their content.
In September, a censored version of American-Australian horror film “Together” was released in China with a gay marriage scene digitally altered to show a heterosexual couple.
And in early 2024, China’s dominant social platform Weibo removed viral images of Chinese dancer and transgender icon Jin Xing waving a rainbow flag.
Despite being a high-profile and immensely popular celebrity in China for years, venues across the country dropped performances by her dance troupe without explanation in January 2025.
READ MOREFrom Chinese army dancer to transgender icon: Jin Xing's extraordinary journey
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