As the report from Bloomberg explains, Grinder was removed from the App Store sometime last week. It’s also unavailable on Android app markets in the country. These Android app stores are run by companies such as Tencent and Huawei in China, as Google’s own Play Store is unavailable in the country.
Some context on the timing of this removal, courtesy of Bloomberg:
Grindr was once owned by a Chinese video game development company Kunlun Tech, but it was sold to US-based investors for over $600 million in March of 2020.
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.
We’ve reached out to Apple for comment on this situation and will update if we hear back.
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