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.

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[–] 5 points 1 year ago (44 children)

they're on chinese social media and i interact with them on rednote; you can too.

i highly recommend it, it does a lot to dispel american propaganda; the biggest things i learned form them is that they believe things that are true about us are chinese gov't propaganda.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (43 children)

    Doesn't answer the question at all

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (42 children)

    it will if you try for yourself instead of making assumptions based on uncritically accepting american propaganda.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (41 children)

    I've checked, they're understandably not happy about being discriminated

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (40 children)

    which platform and which influencers?

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (39 children)

    RedNote for example. Not "influences", just regular people

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (38 children)

    the queer influencers on rednote say otherwise

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (37 children)
  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (36 children)

    share the people you're following on rednote and we can find out

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (35 children)

    Are you asking me to doxx vulnerable people?

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago* (34 children)

    i'm asking you to back up your assertion by sharing the people who are already sharing themselves on rednote; so there's no doxxing application here.

    i'm a queer on rednote and its algorithms show me queer content and creators and i have yet to see one echo a sentiment that matches your assertion.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (33 children)

    I won't direct hostile state attention to vulnerable people, sorry not sorry

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (32 children)

    that sounds unhinged.

    is this hostile state attention in the room with us? lol

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago* (31 children)

    Sorry to be worried about vulnerable groups in a country that's discriminating against them. I'm sure it helps them a lot that you're moving the discussion away from them

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (30 children)

    the only thing to be sorry about is your avoidance of the question; you're the one who's not responding with evidence to support your assertion.

    i'm seeking it because i'm already an online member of the chinese queer community and i never heard your sentiment shared; if it exists, i want to know about it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (29 children)

    You're using some "influencers" as your source rather than actual normal people. You've been had.

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (28 children)

    a very real possibility; which is why i want your sources.

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  • [–] 0 points 1 year ago (27 children)

    It's just normal people I know privately. I wouldn't feel comfortable sharing their accounts

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (26 children)

    the normal people i know privately say the opposite and they're heavily politically engaged; they would know more than your people from that alone.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (25 children)

    You don't know anything about the people I've met though, so that's a weird assertion to make

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (24 children)

    it's an assertion that makes sense given that you accepted this pinkwashing propaganda at face value and tried to defend it; anyone that you associate with will have a similar disposition since birds of a feather flock together.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (23 children)

    You're pretty keen on assumptions

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (22 children)

    it's the only thing there is since you won't won't provide any evidence to back up your claim and you're bought into pink washing propaganda from a source that has a history of peddling propaganda.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (21 children)

    Saying the China's discrimination of LGBTQ people is just pinkwashing is giving off sus vibes tbh. I'm gonna trust the people who actually live there and face that discrimination

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  • [–] 2 points 1 year ago (20 children)

    i talk to chinese queers everyday via rednote and can attest that gay discrimination is definitely a thing in china; but it comes from its people and not the government.

    this is pink washing because it meant to make americans believe that the government is doing the discriminating and there's no clearer sign of this than a source that has been caught red handed peddling propaganda in the past as well as selective talking point that focuses grindr when other grindr-like platforms are used in china, but completely ignored by this piece of propaganda.

    you would do well to develop some media literacy so that you won't be brainwashed by future propaganda.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (19 children)

    Unfortunately the Chinese government is active in discriminating against LGBTQ community and try to show pro-LGBTQ stuff in similar light to you, some foreign influence operation. It's fucked.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (18 children)

    are you going to share the decryption key for this ultra cryptic message? lol

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (17 children)

    What part are you having trouble with? I think it's pretty straightforward but I'm not a native speaker

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (16 children)

    try to show pro-LGBTQ stuff in similar light to you, some foreign influence operation.

    this describes western propaganda and there's no history of this; but you insist that it has something to do with the chinese government.

    sources that are not part of the US state department are needed to verify it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (15 children)

    I'm talking about Chinese government's way of trying to label pro-LGBTQ movements inside China as some foreign influence operation. You are doing something very similar. That's what I mean with the quoted part. Hope that helps

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (14 children)

    yes, it does help and it's not me whose doing it; it's an established fact that the american congress has publically admitted to doing many times in the past and to many countries across the world; most notably in north korea

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (13 children)

    I can't say that I know much about North Korea's LGBTQ situation but trying to paint members of China's LGBTQ community trying to advocate for better treatment as some foreign influence operation is wild.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (12 children)

    no, you're the one trying to paint it queer advancement as foreign influence while this article is clearly pink washing.

    not only have you not backed up your assertions, you keep on changing the topic; so it's become clear that you don't have anything to offer on the topic other than echoing propaganda.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago* (11 children)

    You're the one talking about American propaganda and pink washing, while I wanted to focus on what the actual Chinese LGBTQ community feels about the discrimination they face. You seem to be claiming first that it doesn't exist and now that it's not the government doing it.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (10 children)

    you're conflating your expectations with reality. this article is propaganda, the chinese queer community feels like they're on their own and expect discrimination to come from their peers rather than their government and you would know this if you really were on rednote.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (9 children)

    I'd rather believe the actual victims of that discrimination I've talked to, tbh, than you.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (8 children)

    the problem is that you're not talking to them; you're taking in a propagandized version of them that are getting paid to say those things.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (7 children)

    I'm sure these regular people I'm talking to are secretly CIA because they complain about the discrimination lol

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (6 children)

    you're not talking to anyone and the real funny part is that my gov't has admitted several times publicly that they do this, but people like you still believe it's a conspiracy theory.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (5 children)

    So the people I know don't exist but they're also CIA spies. I guess that's easier for you to stomach than the idea that China doesn't treat their minorities well.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (4 children)

    you're not talking to any queers in china; the cia has spies everywhere; and you're changing the subject again.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (3 children)

    "It didn't happen and if it did it was CIA operation" hah classic

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (2 children)

    it's interesting how you conflate 2 things that are barely related to each other, in this case:

    1. you're not talking to queers in china; but are pretending that you are to double down on your beliefs.
    2. the american government has repeatedly admitted publically that it run propaganda factories throughout the world and especially in china.

    i guess i can see how you get the 2 thing confused with one another since they're tangentially related to china and i would too if i too refused to do some light reading to educate myself about the world.

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago (1 child)

    You're the one who started talking about it being American propaganda though, as you would ofc

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    that's exactly what this article is.

    the article makes it sound like the chinese government is cracking down on queers by getting rid of grindr when the reality is that the american government forced the chinese to sell their ownership of grindr and chinese queers prefer to use grindr alternatives anyways.

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