Two popular dating apps have launched initiatives to keep their Egyptian users safe after the of gay and bisexual men by authorities in Cairo.
Grindr and Hornet have issued in-app safety warnings, urging users to take certain precautions before meeting up with someone they’ve met online.
Amnesty International reports that at least 57 men have been detained for ‘habitual debauchery’ and ‘promoting sexual deviance’ in the weeks following a held by Lebanese band, Mashrou’ Leila where footage of a group people waving rainbow flags went viral.
There are reports that authorities have been using apps such as Grindr to track down members of the LGBT+ community.
Jack Harrison-Quintana, a director at Grindr told that the warnings would remind people to take extra care while using dating apps.
“It will make people take more precautions ... we know that the police are under pressure to arrest people and they are going about doing that through all the avenues that they have,” Harrison-Quintana said.
Reuters reports that the apps have recommended that users should notify a friend before meeting up with someone, check if you have mutual friends with the person and to talk via video chat beforehand.
Hornet president Sean Howell that ““Significant percentages of gay men in the Middle East find online as a safer way to connect.”
“We are being cautious. We have not received many reports from users that make us think that the security online is worse than before,” said Howell.
Vice that some queer Egyptians have decided the risk is too great and have deleted their dating apps altogether.
“The government is monitoring social media accounts to arrest LGBT people. I'm afraid and I have done a lot to protect myself by deleting stuff,” a 24-year-old told the website.
Another young Egyptian they recommended that “everybody deactivate their phones and Facebook because they [authorities] are actively looking for LGBT people at the moment."
