Egypt using dating apps to trap gay people newsweek

These recent updates are part of a broader effort across the gay dating app industry to help protect users. And in the days following, seven alleged LGBTQ people were arrested and charged with promoting sexual deviancy. The recommendations echo push notifications Grindr and other apps have sent with similar tips for users.

Imagine meeting someone on a gay dating app like Grindr or Scruff. Scott Longan American human rights activist with extensive experience in LGBTQ rights in Egypt, emphasized that no dating app is able to completely prevent police entrapment.

A recent update to Grindr in Middle Eastern, Gulf and North African areas enables users to change the Grindr thumbnail on their phone into something less conspicuous, and set a passcode to open the app and protect the content inside.

But just using the apps - regardless of your sexuality - can be grounds for arrest based on the incitement of debauchery or public morality laws in Egypt The Egyptian government did not. Dalia Abd El-Hameed is a gender and human rights officer with the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rightsan Egyptian human rights groupwho helped develop a set of recommendations for Grindr to improve user safety in imperiled areas.

They emphasize the precarious nature of online dating, encourage users not to exchange real names, and only meet people who have been vetted by friends or friends of friends. He suggests a nearby, popular cafe, but when you arrive, police officers swoop in and arrest you.

In this case, a message is going out every day and has been for several weeks since the concert. He said he was familiar with two underground LGBTQ groups in Egypt that conduct training sessions to help people use dating apps safely. CAIRO (AP) — A popular gay social networking application said Friday that it is issuing a warning to its users in Egypt, as police impersonate community members to target LGBTQ+ individuals.

She explained that Egyptian police have been known to stop people walking down the street who look effeminate or simply grab their attention; the move could protect people subject to random searches. The US State Department has publicly expressed concern over the issue but has yet to release an official statement.

You exchange small talk and sexy photos for a couple days before asking him on a date. And inScruff introduced a slate of features to protect users, including sending travel advisories to users who enter countries where homosexuality is criminalized, automatically disabling location services in those countries, and the ability to flag profiles that users believe are being used to entrap others.

You could end up spending six months to six years in jail, where you may be subject to torture. Follow Mike Miksche on Twitter. It is extremely difficult for LGBT people to openly meet potential dates in public in Egypt, so dating apps are a popular way to do that.

But just using the apps - regardless of your sexuality. In response, the gay dating apps Grindr and Hornet are taking steps to help ensure their users’ safety in countries where they may be unsafe. He explained that in Egypt, defendants can be charged solely with electronic evidence like chat history.

In response to the ongoing crackdown, many queer Egyptians are deleting dating apps altogether and clearing out their social media accounts.

Gay Dating Apps Are

The only official statement to emerge from any major world power thus far has come from the United Nations. By Katherine Dee. In some cases, authorities used the gay social app Grindr and the social media platforms Facebook and WhatsApp to arrange public meetings with suspected LGBTQ people, where those people were.

"How Egyptian police hunt LGBT people on dating apps," 31st Jan It is extremely difficult for LGBT people to openly meet potential dates in public in Egypt, so dating apps are a popular way to do that. Since then, human rights groups have said that more than 60 have been arrested, with some sentenced to years in prison.

Egyptian police using dating

However, during a time of particular crisis, we also send out warnings about whatever is going on at the moment on a more regular schedule. Egypt is also known for performing invasive forensic anal exams on queer people who are detained to determine whether a victim is gay, despite there being no scientific basis to the method and it begin considered a form of torture by many.

Photos of the flag-waving incident quickly spread on social media, triggering a public outcry.