For spirituality businesses, maintaining visibility while avoiding government scrutiny is a delicate balance. “Creating a digital spirituality business in China is walking a fine line. Many apps aim to engage users by hinting at the supernatural, yet they must be cautious to not attract government clampdowns,” Coco Chen, co-founder of dream analysis app Dreamore, told Rest of World. Cece brands itself as a “pan-psychological” platform.

Huang, the graduate student, has paid for consultation with “masters” in the app multiple times when frustrated with her life, partly because it’s much more affordable than psychotherapy. On Cece, a 30-minute call with a master costs as little as 60 yuan ($8.40), compared with 300 yuan ($42) sessions on therapy apps. Huang also prefers paying by the minute on Cece, instead of being bound to hour-long recurring sessions.

In October, Huang got back together with her ex-boyfriend. Her friends had described the man as “toxic,” but a Cece horoscope reading indicates high compatibility. “I was just looking for a push in the direction my heart already desires,” said Huang, “but often it is not until you flip the coin that you actually know what you want.”

Read more:

Chen, C. & Zhou, V. (2023, December 20). Anxious and online, Chinese youth embrace spirituality apps. rest of world. https://restofworld.org/2023/tencent-cece-spirituality-app/