Mark Kawalya
Apple has pulled down the Meta-owned end-to-end encrypted messaging app WhatsApp from its App Store in China. This is in compliance to a government directive citing national security concerns. In addition to WhatsApp, Meta’s newer text-based social networking app, Threads, has also been removed from the App Store for similar reasons.
Apple acknowledged that the Cyberspace Administration of China had ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront due to national security concerns.
“The Cyberspace Administration of China ordered the removal of these apps from the China storefront based on their national security concerns,” Apple said in a statement sent to Reuters.
Meta confirmed that WhatsApp and Threads are no longer available on Apple’s App Store in China, but declined to offer further details regarding the takedowns. A spokesperson for Meta directed inquiries to Apple for comment.
The action against the American tech services comes at a backdrop of the U.S. government taking steps towards a ban on TikTok, the hit video app from Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. U.S. politicians have also cited national security concerns in their push to force the company to either sell TikTok to a non-Chinese owner or face a ban in the U.S. market.
According to reports from app tracking firms Qimai and AppMagic cited by Reuters, two other messaging apps, Signal and Telegram, have also been removed from Apple’s App Store in China. While Apple has not officially confirmed these additional removals, the AppleCensorship site, which monitors App Store removals, lists Signal and Telegram as “disappeared” from the mainland China App Store. This move by Apple is not unprecedented. Last summer, multiple generative AI apps were removed from Apple’s China App Store ahead of regulatory changes targeting such apps. Additionally, the Twitter alternative Damus was pulled from the store shortly after approval last year.
The reason for targeting WhatsApp and Threads for removal from Apple’s Chinese App Store remains unclear. WhatsApp is an end-to-end encrypted messaging app, while Threads is a microblogging-style social media app. Both apps offer features that may have drawn attention from Chinese censors. Threads, launched in early July last year, was blocked by China’s Great Firewall, necessitating the use of VPNs to access it. Despite this hurdle, Threads quickly gained popularity in China. The app ranks in the top 5 on Apple’s China App Store last summer.
