On Sunday, the administration ordered app stores to remove Didi Chuxing for its illegal collection and use of users’ personal information. Then the mini-program of Didi was removed on WeChat and Alipay. What happened?
© Image | Reuters
The Cyberspace Administration of China on Sunday requested online mobile app stores to take ride-hailing app DiDi Chuxing (滴滴出行) off their shelves amid a probe into the company’s alleged illegal collection and use of personal information.
On Wednesday, people found that DiDi service has been removed from Tencent’s WeChat and Ant Group’s Alipay, searching for the mini-program no longer yields any results.
△ The mini-program of DiDi Chuxing (滴滴出行) cannot be found as a searching result on WeChat
DiDi Chuxing said on Weibo that it has halted the registration of new users since Saturday, adding that it will remove the app from stores and correct problems in line with the authority’s requirements.
The company said those who have already downloaded DiDi Chuxing could continue using the app.
As for users who previously opened and used DiDi within WeChat or Alipay, or saved the DiDi mini-program, they can still continue to use the ride-hailing service within the super-apps.
△ You can still use the mini-program if you’ve opened and used it before.
The administration urged the ride-haling company to take concrete measures to fix the loopholes in accordance with the law and national standards to ensure the safety of user information.
Since WeChat and Alipay are not technically app stores. It’s not clear how long after the Sunday order from regulators that WeChat and Alipay removed the Didi mini-program from being searchable.
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SOURCE | ecns / CNBC / 新快报
