In China, Facebook Tests the Waters With a Stealth App
Yet even if Facebook is able to use Colorful Balloons to keep up with the Chinese market, a recent intense internet crackdown
in China suggests the political winds may not soon blow in favor of the company further entering the country.
Coming just ahead of a key meeting of the Chinese Communist Party this autumn, the secretive release
of Colorful Balloons could also undermine trust between the company and the Chinese government.
The app was released in China by a company called Youge Internet Technology, according to a post in Apple’s app store.
Yet the social network was banned in China in 2009, followed by its photo-sharing app Instagram in 2014,
and its messaging app WhatsApp was partially blocked last month.
Facebook approved the May debut of a photo-sharing app, called Colorful Balloons, in China, according to a person
with knowledge of the company’s plans, who declined to be named because the information is politically sensitive.
For example, people who post photos from Colorful Balloons on WeChat will see a link that lets other users download Facebook’s Chinese app.
