We monitor 175 App Store storefronts to answer one question —
Is Saku News Application censored by Apple?
Saku News Application is gone from every App Store storefront we test. It was last seen available on Aug 14, 2023.
859 tests on record·last checked 10 days ago
Why it is unavailable
Five things can put an app out of one App Store. Each is weighed below against what can be seen from outside — open a card for the reasoning.
A government or a court demanded it
and Apple complied. Apple publishes a count of these per country each year and never says which apps they were. Apple's 2025 App Store Transparency Report
- News apps in the United States are unavailable at 3%, near the 5% for everything there, which cuts neither way.
- 10 other apps left mainland China the same day, Dec 15, 2023.
- Apple reports 1,213 government-ordered removals in Russia for 2025, naming none of them.
Apple applied a rule, unasked
either its own review guidelines, or its own reading of a local law, with nobody having demanded anything. This is the largest category in Apple's own removal figures by a wide margin, and it covers distribution permits as well as content — Apple kept a free Bible app out of mainland China in 2021 for want of one. Apple's 2025 App Store Transparency Report
- News apps in the United States are unavailable at 3%, near the 5% for everything there, which cuts neither way.
- 10 other apps left mainland China the same day, Dec 15, 2023.
The developer withheld it
freely, or under legal advice of their own, or because Apple's guidelines require that kind of app to be limited to certain countries. Switching a country off is easy for a developer to do in Apple's own tools: it needs no new version of the app, and it leaves no public trace other than the app being unavailable.
Something broke
a rejected update, a lapsed certificate, a payment or licensing problem, a mistake nobody has got round to noticing.
- 10 other apps left mainland China the same day, Dec 15, 2023.
- Gone for 2 years.
A local rule about paying for it
gambling licences, financial rules, tax — the kind of law that governs a transaction. Apple can obey every one of them by refusing the payment, which is why this is the only restriction we would accept and the only one that cannot touch a free app.
- It is free, so Apple sells nothing here.
How this is weighed, and what it cannot tell you
Weighed from the evidence under each card, not from a model. There is no published figure for how Apple's removals divide up, so these are ordered words rather than percentages. For scale on the same-day counts: across the whole record an app leaves a storefront with fewer than two others, so a dozen at once is not a dozen coincidences.
None of this is certain, and a citation does not make it so: Apple naming a Chinese agency tells you what Apple said, not everything that happened. What can be said is that the readings alone cannot separate these five — a developer switching off a country and a government ordering it removed arrive at Apple's catalogue looking identical — and that nobody has ever measured how they divide across the App Store. The one careful study of the question was done on Google's store, using an error message Apple does not emit.
Apple publishes no record of which apps are unavailable in which of its App Stores. For the removals it makes on a government's demand it publishes the agency and the law behind every one — 2,045 of the 166,899 apps it removed during 2025 — and never which app. Where a reason reaches the public at all, it is usually because a developer chose to say so. Apple's App Store Transparency Report
Know of a statement, notice or order we have missed? Tell us →
Saku News Application
Developer: Rachmad Junaidi · Category: News · Released: Aug 7, 2015 ·
Other News apps missing from mainland China
Life of this app
- Aug 7, 2015Released on the App Store
- Apr 19, 2019First tested by AppleCensorship
- Aug 14, 2023Last seen available anywhere
- Jun 2, 2024Gone from 109 storefronts
- Sep 8, 2026Most recent test
Testing history
One column per month, every month from the first reading to the last. Height follows how many readings we took that month; red is the share of them that found the app unavailable. An empty month is one nobody tested.
Found availableFound unavailable
Availability by storefront
Every storefront we test, current status first. Data is a measurement, not a promise: each row carries its own date.
| Test now | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AlbaniaAL | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 14 months ago | ||
| AlgeriaDZ | Unavailable | Feb 4, 2026 | 6 months ago | ||
| AngolaAO | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 1 month ago | ||
| Antigua & BarbudaAG | Unavailable | Apr 1, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| ArgentinaAR | Unavailable | Aug 31, 2025 | 13 months ago | ||
| ArmeniaAM | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 15 months ago | ||
| AustriaAT | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 6 months ago | ||
| BahamasBS | Unavailable | Mar 18, 2024 | 3 years ago | ||
| BelarusBY | Unavailable | Nov 12, 2025 | 10 months ago | ||
| BelgiumBE | Unavailable | Dec 8, 2025 | 7 months ago | ||
| BelizeBZ | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 3 years ago | ||
| BeninBJ | Unavailable | Nov 1, 2025 | 11 months ago | ||
| BermudaBM | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 9 months ago | ||
| BhutanBT | Unavailable | Aug 30, 2025 | 13 months ago | ||
| BoliviaBO | Unavailable | Jun 23, 2025 | 15 months ago | ||
| Bosnia & HerzegovinaBA | Unavailable | Jan 25, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| British Virgin IslandsVG | Unavailable | Feb 5, 2024 | 7 months ago | ||
| BruneiBN | Unavailable | May 11, 2026 | 4 months ago | ||
| CambodiaKH | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 2 months ago | ||
| Cayman IslandsKY | Unavailable | Oct 5, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| ChileCL | Unavailable | Oct 23, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| China (Mainland)CN | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 4 months ago | ||
| Costa RicaCR | Unavailable | Jul 2, 2026 | 3 months ago | ||
| CroatiaHR | Unavailable | Jan 6, 2024 | 14 days ago | ||
| CyprusCY | Unavailable | Jun 1, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| CzechiaCZ | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 40 days ago | ||
| DenmarkDK | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 6 months ago | ||
| Dominican RepublicDO | Unavailable | Apr 21, 2024 | 10 months ago | ||
| EcuadorEC | Unavailable | Oct 16, 2024 | 14 months ago | ||
| EgyptEG | Unavailable | Apr 9, 2025 | 1 year ago | ||
| El SalvadorSV | Unavailable | Sep 3, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| EstoniaEE | Unavailable | Mar 22, 2026 | 6 months ago | ||
| EswatiniSZ | Unavailable | Aug 18, 2024 | 14 months ago | ||
| FinlandFI | Unavailable | Jan 27, 2025 | 2 years ago | ||
| GermanyDE | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 5 months ago | ||
| GhanaGH | Unavailable | May 19, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| GreeceGR | Unavailable | May 24, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| GrenadaGD | Unavailable | Dec 18, 2025 | 9 months ago | ||
| GuatemalaGT | Unavailable | Jun 5, 2025 | 15 months ago | ||
| Guinea-BissauGW | Unavailable | Apr 25, 2026 | 5 months ago | ||
| GuyanaGY | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 7 months ago | ||
| HondurasHN | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 2 months ago | ||
| Hong KongHK | Unavailable | Apr 20, 2026 | 3 months ago | ||
| IcelandIS | Unavailable | Jun 24, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| IsraelIL | Unavailable | Dec 18, 2025 | 9 months ago | ||
| JamaicaJM | Unavailable | Mar 22, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| JordanJO | Unavailable | Aug 13, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| KazakhstanKZ | Unavailable | Oct 11, 2025 | 11 months ago | ||
| KenyaKE | Unavailable | May 18, 2025 | 16 months ago | ||
| KuwaitKW | Unavailable | Sep 4, 2025 | 12 months ago | ||
| LebanonLB | Unavailable | Mar 4, 2026 | 7 months ago | ||
| LiberiaLR | Unavailable | Apr 23, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| LuxembourgLU | Unavailable | Apr 25, 2026 | 5 months ago | ||
| MadagascarMG | Unavailable | Apr 10, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| MalawiMW | Unavailable | Jun 5, 2025 | 5 months ago | ||
| MaliML | Unavailable | Aug 8, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| MaltaMT | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 6 months ago | ||
| MexicoMX | Unavailable | May 21, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| MoldovaMD | Unavailable | Jan 6, 2026 | 8 months ago | ||
| MontserratMS | Unavailable | Jul 16, 2026 | 2 months ago | ||
| MoroccoMA | Unavailable | Sep 4, 2025 | 12 months ago | ||
| Myanmar (Burma)MM | Unavailable | Feb 1, 2024 | 3 years ago | ||
| NauruNR | Unavailable | Jun 15, 2024 | 10 days ago | ||
| NepalNP | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 15 days ago | ||
| NetherlandsNL | Unavailable | Dec 25, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| New ZealandNZ | Unavailable | Mar 27, 2024 | 8 months ago | ||
| NigerNE | Unavailable | Mar 9, 2024 | 3 years ago | ||
| NigeriaNG | Unavailable | Nov 19, 2024 | 3 months ago | ||
| NorwayNO | Unavailable | Apr 24, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| OmanOM | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 7 months ago | ||
| PalauPW | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 2 years ago | ||
| PanamaPA | Unavailable | Mar 30, 2026 | 6 months ago | ||
| Papua New GuineaPG | Unavailable | Mar 1, 2026 | 7 months ago | ||
| ParaguayPY | Unavailable | Jul 6, 2026 | 2 months ago | ||
| PeruPE | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 13 months ago | ||
| PolandPL | Unavailable | Jun 4, 2025 | 15 months ago | ||
| Republic of the CongoCG | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 5 months ago | ||
| RomaniaRO | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 7 months ago | ||
| RussiaRU | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 10 months ago | ||
| RwandaRW | Unavailable | Dec 21, 2024 | 3 months ago | ||
| São Tomé & PríncipeST | Unavailable | Mar 18, 2024 | 14 months ago | ||
| SenegalSN | Unavailable | Jan 25, 2026 | 4 months ago | ||
| SingaporeSG | Unavailable | May 24, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| SlovakiaSK | Unavailable | Apr 5, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| SloveniaSI | Unavailable | Aug 3, 2025 | 13 months ago | ||
| Solomon IslandsSB | Unavailable | Nov 9, 2025 | 9 months ago | ||
| South KoreaKR | Unavailable | Jun 4, 2024 | 10 days ago | ||
| Sri LankaLK | Unavailable | Jul 11, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| St. Kitts & NevisKN | Unavailable | Mar 14, 2025 | 2 years ago | ||
| SurinameSR | Unavailable | Feb 16, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| SwedenSE | Unavailable | Feb 4, 2024 | 14 months ago | ||
| TaiwanTW | Unavailable | Jun 9, 2025 | 15 months ago | ||
| TajikistanTJ | Unavailable | Jul 25, 2025 | 14 months ago | ||
| TanzaniaTZ | Unavailable | Nov 1, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| ThailandTH | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 12 months ago | ||
| TongaTO | Unavailable | Mar 26, 2025 | 1 year ago | ||
| Trinidad & TobagoTT | Unavailable | Jun 2, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| TürkiyeTR | Unavailable | Mar 27, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| TurkmenistanTM | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 3 months ago | ||
| Turks & Caicos IslandsTC | Unavailable | Dec 21, 2024 | 15 days ago | ||
| UgandaUG | Unavailable | Aug 6, 2025 | 40 days ago | ||
| UkraineUA | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 10 days ago | ||
| United Arab EmiratesAE | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 10 days ago | ||
| United KingdomGB | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 3 months ago | ||
| United StatesUS | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 10 days ago | ||
| UzbekistanUZ | Unavailable | Jan 6, 2024 | 3 months ago | ||
| VanuatuVU | Unavailable | May 29, 2024 | 2 years ago | ||
| VietnamVN | Unavailable | Feb 3, 2024 | 1 month ago | ||
| ZimbabweZW | Unavailable | Dec 15, 2023 | 2 months ago | ||
| AfghanistanAF | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| AnguillaAI | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| AustraliaAU | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| AzerbaijanAZ | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| BahrainBH | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| BarbadosBB | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| BotswanaBW | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| BrazilBR | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| BulgariaBG | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| Burkina FasoBF | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| CameroonCM | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| CanadaCA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| Cape VerdeCV | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| ChadTD | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| ColombiaCO | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| Côte d’IvoireCI | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| DominicaDM | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| DR CongoCD | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| FijiFJ | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| FranceFR | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| GabonGA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| GambiaGM | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| GeorgiaGE | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| HungaryHU | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| IndiaIN | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| IndonesiaID | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| IraqIQ | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| IrelandIE | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| ItalyIT | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| JapanJP | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| KosovoXK | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| KyrgyzstanKG | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| LaosLA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| LatviaLV | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| LibyaLY | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| LithuaniaLT | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MacaoMO | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MalaysiaMY | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MaldivesMV | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MauritaniaMR | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MauritiusMU | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MicronesiaFM | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MongoliaMN | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MontenegroME | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| MozambiqueMZ | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| NamibiaNA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| NicaraguaNI | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| North MacedoniaMK | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| PakistanPK | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| PhilippinesPH | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| PortugalPT | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| QatarQA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| Saudi ArabiaSA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| SerbiaRS | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| SeychellesSC | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| Sierra LeoneSL | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| South AfricaZA | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| SpainES | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| St. LuciaLC | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| St. Vincent & GrenadinesVC | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| SwitzerlandCH | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| TunisiaTN | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| UruguayUY | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| VenezuelaVE | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| YemenYE | Not tested | — | — | 0 | |
| ZambiaZM | Not tested | — | — | 0 |
Testing asks Apple whether it will sell this app in that storefront, right now, by the same method the crawler has used since 2019. Your browser asks Apple directly, so the answer describes what Apple serves your connection — and if your browser cannot reach Apple at all, we ask on your behalf and say so. The result is a link: open it to see Apple's own answer and check ours. Readings are added to the record above; roughly a quarter of the readings taken each day come from people testing.
How we test
Availability is checked against Apple's own catalog servers for every storefront, the same way the App Store app asks. "Unavailable" means Apple's servers say the app cannot be offered in that country — it does not say who asked for the removal. Removals initiated by the developer and removals demanded by governments look the same from outside; the history and context on this page are how we tell them apart.