A popular gay social network has accused Google of discrimination after its app was removed from Google's Play store several times without warning.

Axar.az reports citing BBC.

Hornet said Google often employed moderators in Malaysia, where same-sex relationships are illegal, to vet apps.

A rival gay dating app told the BBC that it had also been blocked globally by moderators based in the country.

Google said it did not comment on individual apps but denied that the company was anti-LGBT.

Christof Wittig, chief executive of Hornet, said he was concerned that moderators in Malaysia had the power to "remove LGBT apps worldwide, without warning", given the country's stance on LGBT rights.

In one example seen by the BBC, a moderator that appeared to be in Malaysia had gone through "nearby" profiles in the app and found a photo of a topless man.

The image did not appear to breach any of Google's "sexual content" guidelines and was not reported to Hornet via its own content moderation tools.

However, the moderator suspended Hornet from Google Play.