The LGBTQ dating app Grindr is out of the App Store in China, and - believe it or not - it wasn’t Apple that gave it the boot. 9 to 5 Mac highlights a Bloomberg report that says:
Grindr’s removal comes as China kicks off fresh efforts to regulate internet content ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics. The Cyberspace Administration of China last week announced a month-long campaign to crack down on online rumors, pornography and illegal content.
Some Grindr users in China reported connectivity issues over the past few weeks, including the inability to send and receive messages or add likes.
While many assumed that Apple had, once again, done the bidding of the Chinese government and removed the app from the App Store, secret sources tell 9 to 5 Mac that Apple had nothing to do with the app’s removal. Rather, the piece says, it was Grindr’s parent company that made the move. The app is also said to be out of Android app stores in China run by companies like Tencent and Huawei. So far no one involved seems to have commented on the app’s disappearing act in China.
