Blued and Finka were removed from Apple's App Store and certain Android App Stores.

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.

  • 3abas@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1023·
    9 hours ago

    China is not a socialist utopia. The average Chinese person still has a better quality of life then the average American, because America is a capitalist hellhole.

    • zen@lemmy.zipEnglish
      121·
      5 hours ago

      Both are shitholes mate. If gay people don’t have rights, no one does. Let’s not get into a dick measuring contest, because you’re both looking pretty inverted right now.

    • Tollana1234567@lemmy.todayEnglish
      21·
      4 hours ago

      live there then, im chinese i can tell you dont know want to live under ccp if you are not white and wealthy, promoting thier propaganda.

    • arcterus@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
      203·
      8 hours ago

      Yes, if you are part of the mostly culturally homogeneous majority, hold no views that the state has arbitrarily determined are verboten, are not in some way part of the many groups that have been arbitrarily determined to be verboten (such as increasingly LGBT individuals), are fine with a leader who is set to rule for life, are not below a certain age and unable to get a job in the ruthless job market, live in a city rather than a rural village with poor future prospects, are fine with widespread surveillance in said city far beyond most of the West (UK might give them a run for their money here), are male, and so on, I’m sure it’s a lovely place to live.

      Using America as the example is just funny. Did I say anything about America being good? America is an utterly dysfunctional state. Ironically, it seems both the Chinese govt and Trump’s admin agree that gay people shouldn’t exist. Pretty sad given that things had been trending in a positive direction for LGBT people maybe 15 years ago in China.

      • 3abas@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 hour ago

        Dude, I agreed with you, it’s not a socialist utopia…

        And we seem to agree that America is utterly dysfunctional, and the average American is worse off than the average Chinese.

        I’m not sure why you felt the need to describe the average person, I wasn’t defending China… I already agreed it’s not a socialist utopia. It’s a capitalist hellhole with remnants of socialism/communism that keep the average person housed and fed.

        But in America today you can get arrested without due process and shipped to another country for being too brown, you can get thrown in jail for speaking against the genocide America is funding, and you don’t even get housing or food or healthcare to show for it, just work until you die so the rich can get richer and you can leave your kids with a mortgage.

        • arcterus@piefed.blahaj.zoneEnglish
          1·
          44 minutes ago

          Given how many tankies are on Lemmy, it was really not obvious at all that you were agreeing with me as opposed to saying “ackshually it’s not a utopia, but it’s working on becoming one and America is shit for xyz reasons so you can’t throw stones at China.”