SeekingArrangement is Removed from China’s App Store

29th May 2018 Chloe Gay

The Chinese version of the US sugar daddy dating app SeekingArrangement has been removed from China’s iOS app store.

The app was also unreachable on Android stores such as 360 Mobile Assistant and Tencent MyApp.

Over the past few weeks, SeekingArrangement had taken over the top spot for free social networking apps and held the fourth place on the general list last week. This meant it outperformed some of the country’s most popular apps, such as Weibo and WeChat.

The app was created in 2006 by Singaporean-American Brandon Wade, and is marketed as a money-for-love dating platform which pairs rich men with attractive women.

The platform claims to have more than 10 million active users worldwide.

SeekingArrangement has specific rules, for example, “successful men” are expected to earn at least RMB 300,000 ($47,350) and have a net asset ranging from RMB 600,000 to hundreds of millions.

However, the app has been deemed not acceptable by China’s censorship system after Chinese publication Global Times’ coverage triggered a deep probe into the app’s operations in Shanghai.

WeChat has also issued a ban on the dating app.

An industry insider spoke to TechNode after the app was taken down from the app stores: “SeekingArrangement is a hook-up and call girl platform. Maybe it’s not illegal in some countries, it’s definitely immoral. We are strengthening the censoring system of user dialogues to fend against talks involve sex deals.”