In an attempt to promote safer sex, the gay dating app, Scruff, has banned certain words from users’ profiles that are linked with risky sexual behavior. What are the words currently prohibited from their users’ profiles? “Party” and “chem,” which are both code words for drugs and chemsex, a dangerous phenomenon in the gay community that’s claimed many lives.
While Scruff admittedly has good intentions, many users have easily gotten around the new ban by simply swapping out a letter for a number, like “ch3m” and “p4rty.” Not only that, but Buzzfeed recently wrote about a man who discovered the rule after his profile was rejected because he couldn’t say he was a member of the Labour Party, since the app indiscriminately filters out certain words without checking for context. In a statement, Nigel Whitfield said: “I know the Labour party is a bit fucked up at the moment but I’m pretty sure the problem isn’t that it’s on drugs.” Scruff, do you allow the word “fail” on your app?—it seems maybe you should check that one out for yourself.
Want to promote safe sex? If so, let’s party at NiteFlirt!
Check out more about the gay dating app that bans certain words to promote safer sex here: https://www.thegailygrind.com/
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