
Didi apps ousted from China app stores for privacy reasons near return after ride-hailing firm’s NYSE delisting, sources say
- The company is making final updates to get its apps restored to app stores after a year-long absence, a crucial step that would enable recruitment of new users
- The fixes focus on data compliance with multiple new rules on privacy protection and user consent, sources say
The resumption of new downloads of Didi’s apps, including its main ride-hailing platform Didi Chuxing and popular carpooling service Hitch, is “more essential than a relisting” for the company, because it’s the first step for Didi to restart taking in new users, the first person said.
The rectifications “focus on data compliance, especially to observe multiple new rules on privacy protection and app user consent”, a second source said.

Didi did not immediately respond for comment.
Restoration of Didi’s apps in China’s app stores would also be seen as a concrete sign of Beijing ending special regulatory scrutiny against the country’s biggest tech companies.

Beijing has also issued multiple rules on how apps must protect data, use algorithms, and handle user data with consent.
Didi has been slowly losing its market dominance since its initial public offering a year ago. Its ride orders fell 33 per cent in May compared with June 2021. Meanwhile, rivals T3, which is backed by state-owned companies, and Cao Cao Mobility, incubated by carmaker Geely, saw orders jump by 149 and 32 per cent, respectively.
Didi to start trading on OTC market after delisting from NYSE
The company cannot file an application to list in another public market, such as Hong Kong, until Beijing approves the completion of its rectification measures, Didi said last month.
