HONG KONG — Apple said it has removed two popular gay dating apps from its app store in China, in compliance with an order from the country's cyberspace regulator , stoking fears within the country’s LGBTQ community .

The same-sex dating and social apps Blued and Finka suddenly became unavailable to download on iOS devices over the weekend, while users of Android devices can still download them from their official websites.

Apple said the removal was “based on an order” from the Cyberspace Administration of China but didn’t elaborate on what the order was about.

“We follow the laws in the countries where we operate,” an Apple spokesperson said in a statement to The Associated Press.

A “lite” version of the Blued app is available on Chinese app stores on both Apple and Android d

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