NetEase's Xinyu dating app draws complaints over paid chat and contact unlocks
Beijing Business Today reported, in an article carried by cnBeta, that users of Xinyu — a stranger-social app NetEase Cloud Music launched in 2020 — spend money on coins to raise "intimacy level," with the chat interface stating that contact details can be sent once the level reaches 9. One user, identified as A Qiang, said he spent nearly 10,000 yuan reaching the threshold without the contact being unlocked, and Xinyu's customer service said whether contact details are sent depends on the other user's willingness and the platform cannot force it. A reporter who topped up 6 yuan for 70 coins received an "insufficient coins" prompt after nine minutes and 22 messages, and the report cites more than 1,200 complaints mentioning Xinyu on the Black Cat complaints platform, plus complaints that human customer service is hard to reach behind AI-generated replies.
The report supplies a first-hand pricing test and complaint counts for paid-chat and "intimacy level" gating in a NetEase Cloud Music social product, while citing Sensor Tower data on AI companion app revenue growth as competition for such apps.
“我感觉不对劲，再投入下去是无底洞。”等业务员阿强（化名）意识到这一点，他在心遇App上已经花了近一万元，也就是从那时起，他开始在各投诉平台维权。心遇是网易云音乐2020年推出的陌生人社交App，它将自己定义为“一款主打真实、同城、安全的真人交友应用”，宣称已为用户完成超亿次配对，并承诺能从源头过滤照骗、马甲号。除了即时聊天，心遇还提供直播、多人语聊、KTV等玩法。
阿强最初正是被这套说辞打动，下载注册后，一上线就有人主动找他搭讪，发暧昧消息、打视频，甚至衣着暴露搞擦边。这种“热情”很快变成平台的充值提示，“几十块钱一两个小时就花掉了”。
为了拿到对方的联系方式，阿强按平台规则不断充值以提升“亲密度”。
在对话界面，平台明确提示“亲密等级升级到9级相知恨晚后即可发送联系方式”。可等他砸了近万元达标后，联系方式却没有自动解锁。“平台无法强制”，心遇给出另一个版本的解释。
#NetEase Cloud Music#Xinyu#Hangzhou Ledu Technology#Black Cat Complaints#Soul#Douyin Duoshan#Sensor Tower#QuestMobile