Dating app Tantan removed from Android app stores

On Sunday, multiple Chinese media outlets reported that popular dating app Tantan had been taken down from major Android app stores. As of Monday morning it was still available on Apple’s App Store as well as on smartphone brand Xiaomi’s Mi Store.

An official response from Tantan stated that the takedown was due to “violations,” and that the company would work to rectify the issues. The response did not address the nature of the violations.

As of publication, Tantan had not responded to TechNode inquiries.

In February 2018, Tantan was acquired by its larger competitor Momo in a $600 million buyout. In its 2018 financial report, the live-streaming and social giant reported strong revenue growth, although its costs also rose. Tantan had 3.9 million paying customers as of end-2018, the company said. Previously, the app won popularity as a Tinder lookalike with a “swipe left or right” feature.

On April 19, Chinese outlet Nanchang Evening News reported that ads for prostitution could be found on Tantan’s platform. Just three days earlier, a cleanup effort by internet authorities resulted in other nine messaging-related apps being taken down for hosting pornographic content.