Grindr Issues Warning to Users in Egypt

Popular gay dating app Grindr has issued a warning to its users in Egypt after reports surfaced that police were posing as potential matches to target and arrest LGBTQ+ people.

While homosexuality is not illegal in Egypt per se, according to Associated Press, authorities frequently prosecute the LGBTQ+ community, and specifically gay men, on the grounds of “morality laws” such as “debauchery” and “violating public decency.”

The warning comes as human rights groups, media and activists have noticed authorities cracking down on the LGBTQ+ community in Egypt via digital platforms such as gay dating apps. According to The Hill, the U.S. State Department acknowledged this in a report they issued in 2021 citing “credible accounts of violence ‘targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons and use of the law to arrest and prosecute arbitrarily such persons.’”

The Washington Post spoke with Patrick Lenihan, head of global communications for Grindr, who said that authorities in multiple countries across North Africa and the Middle East have used fake accounts to trap LGBTQ+ people in recent weeks.

He noted that authorities in these countries are not just creating fake profiles, but are using the real profiles of dating app users that have already been arrested to target more people.

Grindr issued the following warning in both Arabic and English when users in Egypt open the app:

“We have been alerted that Egyptian police is actively making arrests of gay, bi, and trans people on digital platforms. They are using fake accounts and have also taken over accounts from real community members who have already been arrested and had their phones taken. Please take extra caution online and offline, including with accounts that may have seemed legitimate in the past.”

Lenihan also noted that the company is working with human rights organizations in these areas to alert people and keep them safe, while at the same time urging governments and political officials to demand safety and protection for LGBTQ+ people in their countries.

He also told The Post that the app has security features to keep users safe, but would not discuss them publicly as he said it could impact their effectiveness.

Grindr has issued warnings to Egyptian users before, and has at least hundreds of thousands of users in the country (and over 12 million active users worldwide). The company went public at the end of last year and reported increased revenue and subscribers in the last quarter.

Grindr has sent similar warnings to users in 90 countries, according to Lenihan. For more on this dating app you can check our our Grindr review.