With millions staying home from work and school in coming weeks — and meeting online instead of in bars and clubs — traffic on gay hookup apps is expected to rise.
And with that in mind, apps including Grindr, Hornet, Scruff and Tinder have issued advisories in recent days about avoiding the coronavirus and preventing its spread. As we mentioned earlier, coronavirus poses unique risks for LGBT and HIV-positive people.
Reuters reports: Many, including Hornet, which has more than 25 million regular users, have recently added advisory notes on how to avoid contracting the virus which has infected more than 130,000 people globally and caused almost 5,000 deaths. … Scruff, which has more than 15 million members worldwide, said it had started to send out coronavirus tips from the World Health Organization (WHO) “in chunks of 100,000 until all users are alerted”, which should be completed by Friday. … Last week, Tinder, which has nearly 6 million subscribers, added an advisory note that users see when swiping between prospective partners to warn over coronavirus, which has been declared a pandemic by the WHO. “Tinder is a great place to meet new people,” the note said. “While we want you to continue to have fun, protecting yourself from the coronavirus is more important.”
Grindr sent an advisory to users Thursday with a link to the CDC website. The company also posted the text of the advisory on Twitter (above).
