Internet authorities are tightening their grip on the rapidly growing app market, with new rules demanding that all app providers on the mainland adopt real-name registration for users and keep their user activity logs for 60 days. The new rules from the Cyberspace Administration of China also aim to rein in excessive access of users’ personal data by app providers. The new regulation applies to the provision of “information services through mobile internet apps as well as app store services on the Chinese mainland.” It is unclear if the new regulation would affect overseas users of Chinese apps. The administration said the regulation, which will take effect from August 1, was introduced to curb the dissemination of “illegal information” and violations of users’ rights through mobile apps. “Lawbreakers exploit a handful of apps to disseminate violent, terrorist, obscene and pornographic information and rumors against the law,” an unnamed CAC official said in a statement on the agency’s website. The administration estimated there were more than four million apps available through online stores on the mainland.