Didi removed from China app stores, no longer available for download

The past 12 months have been unfavorable for tech companies in China as many of them have been banned by the government.

Recently added to the list of threatened tech companies is Didi. The Chinese government has ordered the ban of Didi’s main app from app stores. Its short-cuts have been removed from Tencent’s WeChat and Ant Group’s Alipay.

WeChat and Alipay previously allowed users to open and use other apps like Didi through a shortcut, without having to leave WeChat or AliPay. As of today, searching for Didi on both apps no longer yield any results. Users on WeChat and Alipay could access Didi’s services without having to download the main app since these major platforms have a large user base.

The order to ban Didi came after Chinese regulators launched a cybersecurity review into Didi, a few days into its $4.4 billion initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S. which raised the company’s valuation to over $67 billion. In the first three months of 2021, the cab-hailing company posted earnings of $800 million. Didi dominates China’s ride-hailing market

China’s authorities ordered app stores in China on Sunday to remove the ride-hailing service from their platforms. However, existing users can continue to use the app.

The Didi ban continues the crackdown of the Chinese government on tech giants. Others include the canceling of the $34.5 billion Ant Group IPO last year, and the $2.8 billion antitrust fine on Alibaba. 

News of the probe by the Cyberspace Administration of China on Didi prompted the company to send out warnings to investors on Monday, July 5 about a possible revenue drop

Chinese regulators said on Tuesday that they will intensify supervision of Chinese firms listed overseas, especially those in rival countries like the United States. The supervision will center around data security and cross-border data flows.

Didi, WeChat, and Alipay have declined to comment on the matter.