Grindr Sends Users In Egypt Warnings About Police Entrapment

metroweekly.com:

 PinkNews, at least 150 LGBTQ people have been arrested, beaten, and abused by police officers posing as potential dates, sexual partners, or romantic partners using dating apps and platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram.Police are also reportedly hacking into legitimate user profiles on the app in order to entrap potential victims.

In response, Grindr released a country-wide announcement condemning the police crackdown and warning users to be careful before arranging to meet others in person. “Our hearts are with our community in Egypt,” a spokesperson for Grindr told PinkNews. “Grindr is working with groups on the ground to make sure our users have up-to-date information on how to stay safe, and we are pushing international organizations and governments to demand justice and safety for the Egyptian LGBTQ community.”Other reports from Egypt suggest that police have hired civilian informers to help them “seduce” and entrap LGBTQ people through apps that have not traditionally been considered “gay” apps, like Tinder and Bumble.One Egyptian, using the pseudonym “Darius,” told PinkNews that they’ve stopped walking in the streets or going out in public alone over fears of being targeted.

Darius says they hope to flee the country to avoid such persecution.“Me and my friends got a voice note that said 28 gay people were arrested by police and then forced to call their friends so they could get arrested, too,” Darius said. “A couple of months ago, one of our friends was found dead.