Over 8 Million People to Lose Access to Nike Run Club in China
The popular Nike Run Club app is being discontinued in China, leaving millions of users to find an alternative app to track their running progress next month.
As Reuters reports(Opens in a new window), Nike announced today that the Nike Run Club app will be discontinued in China from July 8. Users in China, of which there are over eight million, were informed through a notification in the app stating, "It's with sadness that NRC APP will cease service and operation in your market from July 8."
No reason has been given for the decision, but Nike promised an "enhanced and localized solution in the future." Investment will continue in the Nike Sport Marketplace in China, and the company told Reuters it's, "creating an ecosystem from China for China, specifically catered to the region’s unique consumer needs to serve athletes better." It's unclear if the new, localized solution will appear before the existing app disappears.
Nike Run Club(Opens in a new window) was created to offer "everything you need to start running, keep running, and enjoy running more." The app automatically tracks your pace, location, distance, elevation, heart rate, and mile splits, allowing you to easily see your progress and improvements. It's also possible to create challenges, share them with other users, and join community challenges for additional motivation to keep running.
Although Nike hasn't provided an explanation for the Run Club app being discontinued, the amount of tracking it carries out may be the culprit. The Chinese government is keen for all data to be stored locally and remain accessible to the authorities (see the Data Security Law(Opens in a new window) that was passed last year for details). Perhaps this is why Nike has decided
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