Cross-posted from “Banned Gay Dating Apps Blued and Finka Remove LGBT Features to Comply With Regulations” by @[email protected] in [email protected]

Blued and Finka, two Chinese gay dating apps that were removed from major app stores several months ago, have both recently pushed updates that hide users’ sexual role labels (1/0/0.5/side) and profile signatures.

On Blued, users must now navigate to a private chat to view another user’s role and signature; filtering by role on the main page is no longer available. The app’s official notice describes the change as being “in compliance with regulatory requirements, to better protect the privacy of your social interactions.”

Dear Users, To comply with regulatory requirements and better protect the privacy of your social interactions, Blued Lite has launched a new "Private Chat Profile Card" feature, which allows you to view another user's detailed information directly within the private chat interface. We welcome you to update to the latest version of Blued Lite at your earliest convenience. Thank you for your continued understanding, support, and companionship. You can search for "Blued极速版" on any app store (including the App Store, Huawei AppGallery, and all other Android app stores), or tap the "Install Now" button below and log in with your existing account to continue your experience.

Finka has gone further, disabling the role-setting feature entirely. Its update notice states the changes were made “to ensure a better experience for all users and to keep the platform running stably for the long term.”

Dear Finka Users, In order to ensure a better experience for all users and to keep the platform running stably and reliably for the long term, we have recently made adjustments to how certain information is displayed on user profile pages. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience these changes may have caused, and we are grateful for every user's understanding and continued companionship. Finka will keep working hard to bring you a more authentic and enjoyable social experience. Thank you for your understanding and support!

Both apps’ main versions remain unavailable on app stores. However, Blued’s lite client, “Blued极速版” (Blued Lite), can still be downloaded across major app stores — though the recent changes have triggered a flood of one-star reviews, pushing its rating on the Chinese Apple App Store down to 1.9 at the time of writing.

https://apps.apple.com/cn/app/blued极速版-上小蓝遇见有趣的人/id1451025748

Users have also reported that profile pictures containing rainbow elements are now flagged as violations on Blued.

According to unverified reports circulating online, China’s latest regulatory requirements are pressuring same-sex social apps to “de-label” themselves and rebrand as “ordinary social/dating apps.”

  • DaGeek247@fedia.io
    0·
    2 days ago

    Yeah, that tracks. The current big hookup place did away with appstores and only host their own (mobile friendly) website instead.

    NSFW https://sniffies.com/

    Turns out having an app on an app store opens you up to shitloads of arbitrary rules that just don’t work for anyone not advertising friendly, much less anything open to shitty government regulations like in China.