WhatsApp censored and removed from app stores in China

End of course for WhatsApp and Threads in China, both of which were removed from the Chinese App Store at the request of Beijing, officially for “national security concerns”. Meta's other apps, like Facebook, Instagram and Messenger, remain available on Apple's store, although their usefulness is still very limited.

In China, the government exercises what we call the Great Firewall. This is a very strict control of the Internet, which aims to regulate what we have the right to do and not to do. The Apple App Store may host the major American apps (Meta, Google, X, etc.), but most of them are non-functional in China. It is impossible to launch them.

WhatsApp completely deleted, why?

China is a country apart, including in terms of digital technology.

To prevent Chinese people from accessing foreign services, Beijing blocks them. It is possible to install Facebook in China, but impossible to open it. Same thing for the facebook.com site, which will not load. Chinese networks have set up a blacklist which makes any connection to an American service, with some exceptions, impossible. You must have a VPN not blocked in China to unlock access to these major services or use a foreign SIM card.

Why remove WhatsApp from the App Store? Because it is the only officially authorized foreign store in China. Apple benefits from an exception and can market its products in Xi Jinping's country (with fewer services). The Google Play Store, to name but one, does not exist. The other stores are Chinese and already don't have Meta apps.