Apple has recently removed the Meta-owned end-to-end encrypted messaging app WhatsApp from its App Store in China due to national security concerns, as reported by the news agency Reuters.
Additionally, Meta’s Threads, a text-based social networking app similar to Twitter, has also been taken down from the App Store in China for the same reasons.
Apple, in a statement to Reuters, stated that the Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps citing national security concerns.
Meta confirmed that both apps are no longer available on Apple’s App Store in China, but they did not provide further details on the takedowns, directing inquiries to Apple.
It has been reported that Signal and Telegram, two other messaging apps, have also been removed from Apple’s App Store in China, although Apple has not confirmed these removals.
AppleCensorship, a site monitoring App Store removals, lists Signal and Telegram as being removed from Apple’s mainland China App Store.
Signal’s president mentioned that Signal was already blocked in China by the Great Firewall, making its removal from the App Store less impactful as users were unable to register or send messages from China.
Earlier removals
This is not the first time Apple has complied with China’s internet regulator in removing apps. Several generative AI apps, a Twitter alternative called Damus, and the audio social networking app Clubhouse were previously removed from Apple’s China App Store.
The reasons behind WhatsApp and Threads being targeted for removal from Apple’s Chinese App Store at this time remain unclear. WhatsApp is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, while Threads is a microblogging-style social media app.
Threads, which was launched last year, quickly gained popularity in China despite being blocked by the Great Firewall, likely leading to increased scrutiny from state censors.
While other Meta-owned apps like Facebook and Instagram are still accessible on Apple’s China App Store, the decisions regarding app removals in China can be arbitrary and inconsistent.
