In only two months of our official launch, we’ve seen a 25% growth in users,” says Joey Dubé, vice president, marketing, Scruff.īut while dating apps provide an avenue for queer individuals to network, they also inadvertently facilitate access to their identities. Why, then, did they feel the need to officiate their presence? “India is still a growing market for queer apps.
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Scruff, too, has been available in India since 2011, with a user base of 10,000. Grindr allows users to chat with other queer men within their locality,
#Local gay dating apps in india apk
Naturally, the Indian LGBTQ community signed up, through APK files (like signing up for Pokemon Go) as the app hadn’t formally launched in India. Online interaction ensured a degree of privacy and anonymity: there was no mandate to upload a display picture, or reveal your real name.īy the late 2000s, when smartphones became accessible and affordable, apps like Grindr (launched in 2009) continued to provide anonymity: one can sign up with a faceless profile, and meet new people. Chat rooms - themed interaction groups - allowed users to start conversations after checking each other’s profiles. It featured a section where gay men could invite potential partners to write letters to them.īy the mid ’90s, interactive online platforms like Yahoo Messenger provided an alternative to the magazines. Mumbai saw its first exclusive LGBTQ platform in the form of Bombay Dost - India’s first queer magazine - in 1990. Bombay Dost, India’s first queer magazine released in 1990. “A pre-defined space to socialise is always preferred as it allows for a level of anonymity and acceptance,” says Sridhar Rangayan, a film-maker and a queer rights activist. Traditionally, the stigma of being gay has offered limited opportunities to seek companionship the way straight individuals do. But in a country where homophobia is rampant, and homosexual acts are a criminal offence (as declared by the Supreme Court in 2013), are dating apps really encouraging the LGBTQ cause?Īlso read: Dummies guide to Pride Parade: What it is and you should attend it The figures convinced Scruff, an American dating app for men, to further its efforts in India in July this year, by emphasising on their app-based services. Even Grindr, with 10 million users worldwide, recorded a gradual increase from 11,000 to 69,000 monthly users between 20 from India (source: ). Now, PR has 3 million users globally, and India comprises 7% of that (91,800 users source: ). It’s a community for queer men, not a hook-up space,” says Mandar. You can see profiles of men from different countries, and chat with them. The home page for PlanetRomeo, an online community for gay men.
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The earliest queer dating platform, PlanetRomeo (PR), launched worldwide in 2002, and continues to be an online community for gay men. But while the straight population woke up to this revolution only in the last year or so, the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Queer) community has long embraced online matchmaking.
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American dating app, Tinder, launched in India in 2014, followed by Indian dating apps, such as TrulyMadly (2015) and ekCoffee (2016), sparking an online dating culture. Online matchmaking in India has come a long way since released in 1996. They’ve been together for the last year-and-a-half. Fortunately, I met someone who shared the same outlook,” he says.
![local gay dating apps in india local gay dating apps in india](https://images.news18.com/ibnlive/uploads/2018/09/grindr.jpg)
I was told it was futile to look for a long-term partner, as users look for sexual partners. They matched each other’s profiles and, after a few dates, began seeing each other. Mandar*, 24, a Mumbai-based MBA student, met his boyfriend on Grindr - a dating app for gay men - in 2014.