Executives with Grindr, the world’s most popular gay dating app, have pulled it from Apple’s app store in China over concerns about data regulations, marking the latest of a series of foreign departures from the Chinese market following new rules.
Grindr’s services continue to function in China, although in the past China’s government has taken steps to block services that do not follow its rules.
In this case, the rules include a new personal information protection law that requires Chinese government permission for customer data to be transmitted outside the country’s borders.
Headquartered in West Hollywood, Calif., the app pioneered location-based dating. Grindr has occasionally gotten into hot water over its handling of personal data.