Google confirmed the app, “Hijrah Diri”, breached its platform’s guidelines, The Guardian reported.

“Whenever an app is flagged to us, we investigate the matter against our Play Store policies. If violations are found, we take appropriate action to maintain a trusted experience for all,” Google was quoted as saying by the UK daily.

Under Google’s guidelines, apps that “attempt to deceive users or enable dishonest behaviour” or are “determined to be functionally impossible” are disallowed.

First released in 2016, the app was reportedly shared on the Islamic development department’s (Jakim) Twitter account.

Jakim is believed to have claimed that the “Hijrah Diri” app would enable those who are LGBT – an acronym to describe those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender – to return to a “pure state”.

It also allegedly included an e-book recounting the experiences of a gay man who “abandoned homosexual behaviour” during Ramadan.

Meanwhile, religious affairs minister Idris Ahmad took to Facebook to express his disappointment over the removal of the app by Google.

“It is disappointing that an app intended to return people to the right path has been rejected by certain groups while there remain many apps that encourage immorality,” he said.

He added that he has instructed Jakim to contact the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) for clarification and advice on what action should be taken.