We monitor 175 App Store storefronts to answer one question —

Is 树洞 - 聊天交友 censored by Apple?

Yes.

Apple does not offer 树洞 - 聊天交友 in 25 of the 175 App Stores it operates, including mainland China. 2.2B people cannot install it. It has been unavailable in mainland China since Oct 10, 2024.

1,345 tests on record·⚠ last verified 5 months ago — treat as historical

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 itLikely

    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

  • Apple applied a rule, unaskedLikely

    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

  • The developer withheld itUnlikely

    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 brokeUnlikely

    a rejected update, a lapsed certificate, a payment or licensing problem, a mistake nobody has got round to noticing.

  • A local rule about paying for itRuled out

    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 →

树洞 - 聊天交友

Developer: 鹏 罗 · Category: Social Networking · Released: Feb 18, 2019 · Rating: 2.3★

View in App Store ↗
77stores where available
25stores where blocked
2.2Bpeople behind the block
102of 175 stores tested
1,345tests on record

Installing it anyway

树洞 - 聊天交友 is unavailable in mainland China, but it is still sold in the US App Store. A free second Apple ID installs it — about 10 minutes, no card, and your main account stays as it is.

How to install it — GreatFireVPN ↗

Other Dating apps missing from mainland China

Everything missing from mainland China →

Life of this app

  1. Feb 18, 2019Released on the App Store
  2. Jul 6, 2020First tested by AppleCensorship
  3. Sep 22, 2022Gone from 25 storefronts
  4. Jun 6, 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.

2020-072026-06

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
AlgeriaDZUnavailableMay 15, 20224 years ago
AnguillaAIUnavailableFeb 24, 20234 years ago
ArmeniaAMUnavailableJun 30, 20224 years ago
BulgariaBGUnavailableJan 2, 20234 years ago
China (Mainland)CNUnavailableOct 10, 20245 months ago
EcuadorECUnavailableMay 14, 20224 years ago
EgyptEGUnavailableApr 18, 20234 years ago
HondurasHNUnavailableJan 2, 20234 years ago
IcelandISUnavailableJul 12, 20224 years ago
MauritiusMUUnavailableJun 23, 20224 years ago
MontserratMSUnavailableJan 2, 20234 years ago
NetherlandsNLUnavailableJan 21, 20234 years ago
NigeriaNGUnavailableOct 10, 20224 years ago
North MacedoniaMKUnavailableAug 3, 20224 years ago
NorwayNOUnavailableSep 22, 20224 years ago
PakistanPKUnavailableMay 14, 20224 years ago
PeruPEUnavailableJan 12, 20234 years ago
RwandaRWUnavailableJul 20, 20224 years ago
SenegalSNUnavailableJul 30, 20233 years ago
SloveniaSIUnavailableJun 18, 20233 years ago
SwedenSEUnavailableDec 6, 20224 years ago
TongaTOUnavailableAug 8, 20224 years ago
Trinidad & TobagoTTUnavailableMay 20, 20224 years ago
TunisiaTNUnavailableAug 8, 20224 years ago
United KingdomGBUnavailableMay 14, 20224 years ago
AfghanistanAFAvailable—1 year ago
AlbaniaALAvailable—1 year ago
AngolaAOAvailable—1 year ago
ArgentinaARAvailable—1 year ago
AustraliaAUAvailable—1 year ago
AzerbaijanAZAvailable—1 year ago
BelarusBYAvailable—1 year ago
BelizeBZAvailable—1 year ago
BeninBJAvailable—1 year ago
Bosnia & HerzegovinaBAAvailable—1 year ago
BotswanaBWAvailable—1 year ago
British Virgin IslandsVGAvailable—1 year ago
BruneiBNAvailable—1 year ago
Burkina FasoBFAvailable—1 year ago
CameroonCMAvailable—1 year ago
CanadaCAAvailable—1 year ago
Cape VerdeCVAvailable—1 year ago
Cayman IslandsKYAvailable—1 year ago
ChadTDAvailable—1 year ago
Côte d’IvoireCIAvailable—1 year ago
CroatiaHRAvailable—1 year ago
DR CongoCDAvailable—1 year ago
EstoniaEEAvailable—1 year ago
EswatiniSZAvailable—1 year ago
FijiFJAvailable—1 year ago
GabonGAAvailable—1 year ago
GambiaGMAvailable—9 months ago
GeorgiaGEAvailable—1 year ago
GermanyDEAvailable—1 year ago
GhanaGHAvailable—1 year ago
GuatemalaGTAvailable—1 year ago
Guinea-BissauGWAvailable—1 year ago
Hong KongHKAvailable—1 year ago
IndiaINAvailable—1 year ago
IraqIQAvailable—1 year ago
IrelandIEAvailable—1 year ago
IsraelILAvailable—1 year ago
ItalyITAvailable—1 year ago
JapanJPAvailable—1 year ago
JordanJOAvailable—1 year ago
KenyaKEAvailable—1 year ago
KyrgyzstanKGAvailable—1 year ago
LaosLAAvailable—1 year ago
LiberiaLRAvailable—1 year ago
MacaoMOAvailable—1 year ago
MadagascarMGAvailable—1 year ago
MalawiMWAvailable—1 year ago
MalaysiaMYAvailable—12 months ago
MaliMLAvailable—1 year ago
MaltaMTAvailable—1 year ago
MauritaniaMRAvailable—1 year ago
MexicoMXAvailable—1 year ago
MoldovaMDAvailable—1 year ago
MoroccoMAAvailable—1 year ago
NamibiaNAAvailable—1 year ago
NauruNRAvailable—5 months ago
NepalNPAvailable—1 year ago
NicaraguaNIAvailable—1 year ago
OmanOMAvailable—1 year ago
Papua New GuineaPGAvailable—1 year ago
QatarQAAvailable—1 year ago
Republic of the CongoCGAvailable—1 year ago
RussiaRUAvailable—1 year ago
São Tomé & PríncipeSTAvailable—1 year ago
Saudi ArabiaSAAvailable—5 months ago
SingaporeSGAvailable—1 year ago
South AfricaZAAvailable—1 year ago
St. Kitts & NevisKNAvailable—1 year ago
SurinameSRAvailable—1 year ago
TaiwanTWAvailable—12 months ago
ThailandTHAvailable—12 months ago
TurkmenistanTMAvailable—1 year ago
UkraineUAAvailable—1 year ago
United Arab EmiratesAEAvailable—5 months ago
United StatesUSAvailable—5 months ago
VietnamVNAvailable—1 year ago
ZambiaZMAvailable—1 year ago
Antigua & BarbudaAGNot tested——0
AustriaATNot tested——0
BahamasBSNot tested——0
BahrainBHNot tested——0
BarbadosBBNot tested——0
BelgiumBENot tested——0
BermudaBMNot tested——0
BhutanBTNot tested——0
BoliviaBONot tested——0
BrazilBRNot tested——0
CambodiaKHNot tested——0
ChileCLNot tested——0
ColombiaCONot tested——0
Costa RicaCRNot tested——0
CyprusCYNot tested——0
CzechiaCZNot tested——0
DenmarkDKNot tested——0
DominicaDMNot tested——0
Dominican RepublicDONot tested——0
El SalvadorSVNot tested——0
FinlandFINot tested——0
FranceFRNot tested——0
GreeceGRNot tested——0
GrenadaGDNot tested——0
GuyanaGYNot tested——0
HungaryHUNot tested——0
IndonesiaIDNot tested——0
JamaicaJMNot tested——0
KazakhstanKZNot tested——0
KosovoXKNot tested——0
KuwaitKWNot tested——0
LatviaLVNot tested——0
LebanonLBNot tested——0
LibyaLYNot tested——0
LithuaniaLTNot tested——0
LuxembourgLUNot tested——0
MaldivesMVNot tested——0
MicronesiaFMNot tested——0
MongoliaMNNot tested——0
MontenegroMENot tested——0
MozambiqueMZNot tested——0
Myanmar (Burma)MMNot tested——0
New ZealandNZNot tested——0
NigerNENot tested——0
PalauPWNot tested——0
PanamaPANot tested——0
ParaguayPYNot tested——0
PhilippinesPHNot tested——0
PolandPLNot tested——0
PortugalPTNot tested——0
RomaniaRONot tested——0
SerbiaRSNot tested——0
SeychellesSCNot tested——0
Sierra LeoneSLNot tested——0
SlovakiaSKNot tested——0
Solomon IslandsSBNot tested——0
South KoreaKRNot tested——0
SpainESNot tested——0
Sri LankaLKNot tested——0
St. LuciaLCNot tested——0
St. Vincent & GrenadinesVCNot tested——0
SwitzerlandCHNot tested——0
TajikistanTJNot tested——0
TanzaniaTZNot tested——0
TürkiyeTRNot tested——0
Turks & Caicos IslandsTCNot tested——0
UgandaUGNot tested——0
UruguayUYNot tested——0
UzbekistanUZNot tested——0
VanuatuVUNot tested——0
VenezuelaVENot tested——0
YemenYENot tested——0
ZimbabweZWNot 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.