The State of Queer Dating Apps in Homophobic Society: Empowerment, Danger, and Censorship

In many countries where homophobia is rampant, the LGBT dating scene begins exclusively online. Where it’s difficult and possibly dangerous to be out as a gay man or woman, individuals struggle to find a same-sex partner. But the rise of dating apps like Grindr for exclusively gay men, Her for exclusively gay women, and many other dating apps like Tinder that allow for matches of all sexual orientations have allowed queer people to find out who in their area is also seeking a same sex relationship.

Revealing one's sexuality on an LGBT dating app can feel less risky than being out offline. Most users of these apps are queer people seeking partners, lessening the potential danger and prejudice for those identifying as queer. The guesswork that would normally come along with finding a same sex partner in a homophobic society is erased through using queer dating apps. These applications also can provide users with the ability to connect and network within the LGBT community, a community that can be hard to identify in a homophobic atmosphere. The gathering places of the LGBT community in some countries are almost exclusively online: Sun Mo, a Chinese user of the Chinese gay dating app Blued said, “In America, if you don’t use Grindr, you can go to a gay bar. You can find gay people around. In China, apart from Beijing, Guangzhou and Shanghai — in smaller cities, and in the countryside — you can’t find any gay organizations or gay bars whatsoever.” In the same way that queer people in rural areas of the US often rely upon dating apps to meet new potential partners, LGBT people in urban areas of homophobic countries rely on queer dating apps as well. 

Yet as some queer people feel empowered by the ability to connect with more members of the LGBT community, some simultaneously feel endangered. Queer dating apps suggest new partners based on the user’s location. Through using the application, it’s possible to see the members of the LGBT community in the area and exactly how many feet away they are. This information in the wrong hands can make tracking queer individuals much easier for police in homophobic countries. To test the feasibility of finding someone’s exact location using a gay dating app, Nguyen Phong Hoang and two other researchers at Kyoto University used a methodology called trilateration to track users. By looking at how far away different users are on Grindr or similar apps, it is possible to determine an exact location by combining the distance measurement from three points surrounding them. Aware of this security risk, many apps have allowed users to opt out from sharing their distance from other users, but Hoang says that it’s still possible to track users even if they don’t share their location data. The app still shares the order in closeness of other users even if it doesn’t share the exact distance. Through what Hoang calls “colluding trilateration,” it is still possible to track users. Using two fake accounts and GPS spoofing software like Fake GPS , it is possible to position the fake accounts slightly closer and slightly further away from a target until a very small circular location is determined.

Authorities in homophobic societies using sophisticated algorithms to track gay dating app users in the same manner as Hoang describes is unheard of, but authorities still are using these apps to single out LGBT people through simpler methods. Many stories exist in Egypt and Syria of authorities or individuals creating fake accounts, setting up dates with men on gay dating apps, and attacking these men upon their arrival. Referencing a period of violence towards the LGBT community in Egypt in 2013, Karim Ahmad said, "In the current climate, I no longer dare to use applications to meet people...Undercover police agents use the applications to set up meetings with gays in cafes. It's a trap." In Syria, members of ISIS