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.717-.717c.8.8 2.065.8 2.865 0l2.388-2.388c.8-.8.8-2.065 0-2.865-.8-.8-2.065-.8-2.865 0l-2.269 2.268a.507.507 0 1 1-.716-.716l2.268-2.269a3.044 3.044 0 0 1 4.299 0 3.044 3.044 0 0 1 0 4.299l-2.388 2.388Z"></path></svg></button></div></li></ul></div><div class="lg:hidn"><div style="marg:0;m-height:40px;m-width:200px" class="_1gsaw2w0 _1gsaw2w4" data-ncert="article_sponsorship_headle_above_mobile_and_tablet"></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="relative lg:m-w-[37.5rem]"><div class="duet--article--le-background fullbleed absolute bottom-[75%] -z-20 h-[10000px] md:bottom-[66%] lg:bottom-[50%] bg-blurple"></div><div class="md:hidn"><figure class="duet--article--le-image w-full"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;overflow:hidn;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;posn:relative"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;paddg-top:100%"></span><img alt="" siz="100vw" srcSet="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 376w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 384w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 415w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 480w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 540w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 640w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 750w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 828w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1080w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1200w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1440w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1920w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2048w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2400w" src="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/" dg="async" data-nimg="rponsive" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver"/></span></figure></div><div class="hidn md:block"><figure class="duet--article--le-image w-full"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;overflow:hidn;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;posn:relative"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;paddg-top:66.63636363636364%"></span><img alt="" siz="(max-width: 768px) 100vw, (max-width: 1180px) 700px, 1100px" srcSet="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 376w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 384w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 415w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 480w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 540w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 640w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 750w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 828w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1080w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1200w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1440w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1920w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2048w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2400w" src="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/" dg="async" data-nimg="rponsive" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver"/></span></figure></div></div></div><div class="relative mt-28 md:mx-to md:flex md:max-w-ntaer-md lg:mt-36 lg:max-w-none"><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent-ntaer sm:ml-to md:ml-100 md:max-w-article-body lg:mx-100"><div id="ntent" class="clearfix"><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup mb-20 font-fkroman text-22 leadg-150 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe first-letter:float-left first-letter:mr-18 first-letter:font-polysans-mono first-letter:text-[117px] first-letter:font-medium first-letter:leadg-[.72] dark:first-letter:text-ankl">Firas knew somethg was wrong when he saw the checkpot. He was meetg a man Dokki’s Maha Square, a tree-led park jt across the Nile om Cairo, for what was supposed to be a romantic renzvo. They had met onle, part of a growg muny of gay Egyptians g servic like Grdr, Hor, and Growler, but this was their first time meetg person. The man had been aggrsive, explicly askg Firas to brg ndoms for the night ahead. When the day me to meet, he was late — so late that Firas almost lled the whole thg off. At the last mute, his date pulled up a r and offered to take Firas directly to his apartment.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">A few blocks to the ri, Firas saw the checkpot, a rare occurrence a quiet, rintial area like Maha. When the r stopped, the officer workg the checkpot talked to Firas’ date wh ference, almost as if he were a fellow p. Firas opened the door and ran.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">“Seven or eight people chased me,” he <a href=">later told the Egyptian Iniative for Personal Rights</a>, a lol LGBT rights group. “They ught me and beat me up, sultg me wh the worst words possible. They tied my left hand and tried to tie my right. I risted. At that moment, I saw a person g om a police microb wh a baton. I was sred to be h on my face so I gave .”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block md:float-left md:mr-30 md:w-[320px] lg:-ml-100"><div class="duet--article--article-pullquote mb-20"><div class="mb-10 h-[22px] w-[65px] bg-ankl"></div><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup relative bg-repeatg-l-dark bg-[length:1px_1.2em] pb-8 font-polysans text-28 font-medium leadg-120 trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:bg-repeatg-l-light dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple">“They ught me and beat me up, sultg me wh the worst words possible.”</p></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">He was taken to the Mogamma, an immense ernment buildg on Tahrir Square that ho Egypt’s General Directorate for Protectg Public Moraly. The police ma him unlock his phone so they uld check for evince. The ndoms he had brought were entered as evince. Invtigators told him to say he had been molted as a child, that the cint was rponsible for his viant sexual habs. Believg he would be given better treatment, he agreed — but thgs only got worse om there. </p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">He would spend the next 11 weeks tentn, mostly at the Doqi police statn. Police there had prtouts of his chat history that were taken om his phone after the arrt. They beat him regularly and ma sure the other mat knew what he was for. He was taken to the Forensic Authory, where doctors examed his an for signs of sexual activy, but there was still no real evince of a crime. After three weeks, he was nvicted of crim related to bchery and sentenced to a year prison. But Firas’ lawyer was able to appeal the nvictn, overturng six weeks later. Police kept him locked up for two weeks after that, refg to allow visors and even nyg that he was ctody. Eventually, the thori offered him an rmal portatn — a chance to leave the untry, exchange for signg away his asylum rights and payg for the ticket himself. He jumped at the chance, leavg Egypt behd forever.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block"><div class="my-9"><div class="transn-all duratn-300 ease--out"><div class="fixed set-0 h-[110vh] w-full bg-whe transn-all duratn-300 ease--out z-[-1] cursor-flt opacy-0"></div><div role="button" aria-label="Zoom" tabx="0" class="visible z-30 w-full orig-center transn-all duratn-300 ease--out cursor-zoom-"><figure class="transn-all duratn-300 ease--out lg:mx-0"><div><div class="duet--media--ntent-warng relative" style="paddg-top:66.66666666666666%"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;overflow:hidn;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0"><img alt="" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver"/><noscript><img alt="" loadg="lazy" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver" siz="(max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 744px" srcSet="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 376w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 384w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 415w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 480w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 540w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 640w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 750w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 828w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1080w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1200w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1440w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1920w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2048w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2400w" src="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/"/></noscript></span></div></div></figure></div><div class="z-1 w-full hidn"><figure class="transn-all duratn-300 ease--out lg:mx-0"><div><div class="duet--media--ntent-warng relative" style="paddg-top:66.66666666666666%"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;overflow:hidn;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0"><img alt="" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver"/><noscript><img alt="" loadg="lazy" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver" siz="(max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 744px" srcSet="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 376w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 384w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 415w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 480w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 540w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 640w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 750w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 828w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1080w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1200w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1440w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1920w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2048w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2400w" src="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/"/></noscript></span></div></div></figure></div></div></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe m-h-[80px] first-letter:float-left first-letter:mr-18 first-letter:font-polysans-mono first-letter:text-100 first-letter:font-medium first-letter:leadg-[.72] first-letter:selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:first-letter:text-ankl">It’s an alarmg story, but a mon one. As LGBTQ Egyptians flock to apps like Grdr, Hor, and Growlr, they face an unprecented threat om police and blackmailers who e the same apps to fd targets. The apps themselv have bee both evince of a crime and a means of ristance. How an app is built n make a ccial difference those s. But wh velopers thoands of away, n be hard to know what to change. It’s a new moral challenge for velopers, one that’s producg new llaboratns wh nonprof groups, circumventn tools, and a new way to thk about an app’s rponsibily to s ers.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Most arrts start the same way as Firas’ story. Targets meet a iendly stranger on a gay datg se, sometim talkg for weeks before meetg person, only to fd out they’re beg targeted for a bchery se. The most recent wave of arrts started last September after an dience member unfurled a gay pri flag at a rock ncert, somethg the regime took as a personal sult. More than 75 people were arrted on bchery charg the weeks that followed.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Homosexualy isn’t illegal Egypt, but the LGBTQ muny has bee a eful spegoat for the el-Sisi regime, and the General Directorate for Protectg Public Moraly is beg ed to jail and prosecute anyone perceived as mtg a transgrsn. Even when the charg don’t stick, charg n be ed as a pretense for public huiatn, weeks of imprisonment, or even portatn. The Egyptian Iniative for Personal Rights (EIPR) has documented more than 230 LGBTQ-related arrts om October 2013 to March 2017, which is more than the prev 13 years bed.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block md:float-left md:mr-30 md:w-[320px] lg:-ml-100"><div class="duet--article--article-pullquote mb-20"><div class="mb-10 h-[22px] w-[65px] bg-ankl"></div><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup relative bg-repeatg-l-dark bg-[length:1px_1.2em] pb-8 font-polysans text-28 font-medium leadg-120 trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:bg-repeatg-l-light dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple">“I oze as a human beg for a while.”</p></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">For those the muny, the threat of vlence is hard to pe. “I oze as a human beg for a while,” one Egyptian lled Omar told me. “I lost my sexual drive for a long time. There were so many horrific stori about people beg imprisoned or blackmailed or put unr some sort of prsure for their sexualy. It was disturbg.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Egypt’s state media has largely cheered on the crackdown, treatg a 2014 raid on the Bab al-Bahr bathhoe as more of a tabloid drama than a human rights issue. Raids on bars, hoe parti, and other gay spac have bee mon. “There’s this sense of society wantg to publicize anythg that’s private for the LGBTQ muny,” Omar says. “It be hard to discrimate what’s private and what’s public.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">As a rult, channels for private munitns like datg apps Grdr and Hor are particularly important here. And to different extents, both platforms feel that they have some rponsibily for keepg their ers safe. In the weeks after the September crackdown, both Grdr and Hor began sendg out warngs through their apps, notifyg ers of the crackdown and givg the same advice about retag a lawyer and watchg for police acunts. The msag served as a kd of early warng system, a way to spread news of the new threat as quickly as possible. </p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe"><a href=">Sce 2014</a>, Grdr has warned Egyptian ers about blackmailers and remend keepg their acunt as anonymo as possible. If you check the app Cairo, you’ll see a strg of anonymo pictur. Some ers even create profil to warn others that a specific dividual is a blackmailer or a p. On Hor, more than half the acunts have pictur, though many stay obscured. One Egyptian man told me that when he vised Berl on vatn, he was shocked to see that every Grdr profile had a face; had never occurred to him that so many people might out themselv onle.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block md:float-left md:mr-30 md:w-[320px] lg:-ml-100"><div class="duet--article--article-pullquote mb-20"><div class="mb-10 h-[22px] w-[65px] bg-ankl"></div><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup relative bg-repeatg-l-dark bg-[length:1px_1.2em] pb-8 font-polysans text-28 font-medium leadg-120 trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:bg-repeatg-l-light dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple">A Grdr shot your mera roll uld easily bee evince a bchery se, and jt havg the app on your phone is a risk</p></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Lol LGBTQ groups have their own remendatns for stayg safe. Before meetg up, they suggt you have a signated attorney om one of the lol groups, and that you tell someone where you’re gog se you get picked up by police. Don’t keep screenshots on your phone or on cloud servic like Google Photos that might be accsible to police. If you e vio chat stead of sendg pictur, ’s harr to take crimatg screenshots. Screenshots are dangero for the people who take them, too: a Grdr shot your mera roll uld easily bee evince a bchery se. Jt havg the app on your phone is a risk.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">It’s good advice, but ’s hard to follow. Even if you know all the l, all tak is one slip to fall to the trap. A lol nonprof worker named Yosef told me he tells iends not to e the apps if they have other optns. By now, he’s ed to beg ignored. “It’s mental torture,” he said. “It’s a daily stggle bee you jt want to exprs your sexualy.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">It’s easier if the safeguards are built to the app self. Grdr still llects er lotns Egypt and ranks nearby ers om clost to fartht, but the Egyptian versn of the app won’t list precise distanc. At the same time, Grdr has stggled wh a strg of recent secury issu, leakg profile data through <a href=">third-party plugs</a> and <a href=">sharg HIV stat</a> wh analytics partners. None of those slip-ups seem to have been exploed by Egyptian groups, but they n hardly be reassurg to ers.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Hor, Grdr’s ma petor Egypt, mak no effort to hi a er’s lotn Egypt at all. Hor print Sean Howell told me was a liberate choice. “Can someone go through and look for men nearby Egypt? Y, they n,” Howell said. “We talk about . We send warngs. But we have 100,000 ers Cairo. They’re not gog to arrt all the men. Are we gog to send them back to a digal closet?”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">One of the biggt challeng signg the featur is the culture gap between ers like Firas and the signers at Grdr and Hor. Grdr was found by an Israeli immigrant who settled LA; Hor spls s executive team between San Francis, Toronto, and New York. Both apps were built amid a thrivg, sex-posive gay culture. In most untri, they reprent that culture phed to s lim. For Amerins, ’s hard to image beg aaid to show your face on such an app. It’s not jt a technologil challenge, but a cultural one: how do you sign software knowg that simple terface cisns like watermarkg a screenshot uld rult someone beg arrted or ported? Thoands of away om the most vulnerable ers, how would you know if you ma the wrong choice?</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block"><div class="my-9"><div class="transn-all duratn-300 ease--out"><div class="fixed set-0 h-[110vh] w-full bg-whe transn-all duratn-300 ease--out z-[-1] cursor-flt opacy-0"></div><div role="button" aria-label="Zoom" tabx="0" class="visible z-30 w-full orig-center transn-all duratn-300 ease--out cursor-zoom-"><figure class="transn-all duratn-300 ease--out lg:mx-0"><div><div class="duet--media--ntent-warng relative" style="paddg-top:66.66666666666666%"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;overflow:hidn;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0"><img alt="" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver"/><noscript><img alt="" loadg="lazy" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver" siz="(max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 744px" srcSet="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 376w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 384w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 415w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 480w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 540w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 640w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 750w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 828w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1080w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1200w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1440w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1920w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2048w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2400w" src="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/"/></noscript></span></div></div></figure></div><div class="z-1 w-full hidn"><figure class="transn-all duratn-300 ease--out lg:mx-0"><div><div class="duet--media--ntent-warng relative" style="paddg-top:66.66666666666666%"><span style="box-sizg:borr-box;display:block;overflow:hidn;width:ial;height:ial;background:none;opacy:1;borr:0;marg:0;paddg:0;posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0"><img alt="" src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver"/><noscript><img alt="" loadg="lazy" dg="async" data-nimg="fill" style="posn:absolute;top:0;left:0;bottom:0;right:0;box-sizg:borr-box;paddg:0;borr:none;marg:to;display:block;width:0;height:0;m-width:100%;max-width:100%;m-height:100%;max-height:100%;object-f:ver" siz="(max-width: 1023px) 100vw, 744px" srcSet="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 376w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 384w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 415w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 480w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 540w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 640w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 750w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 828w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1080w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1200w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1440w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 1920w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2048w, (1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/ 2400w" src="(1020x680:1021x681):format(webp)/"/></noscript></span></div></div></figure></div></div></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe m-h-[80px] first-letter:float-left first-letter:mr-18 first-letter:font-polysans-mono first-letter:text-100 first-letter:font-medium first-letter:leadg-[.72] first-letter:selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:first-letter:text-ankl">Rearchers who are partnerg wh platforms have been stgglg wh those qutns for years, and apps like Grdr have given rearchers a new way to answer them. In plac where the gay muny has been driven unrground, datg apps are often the only way to reach them — somethg that’s led a number of nonprofs to seek out Grdr as a rearch tool.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">“So many guys will get on Grdr who have never told anyone they’re gay,” says Jack Harrison-Qutana, the director of Grdr’s social-good divisn, Grdr For Equaly. “And they know nothg. There’s no work. Once we start msagg them, creat more of a work.” Harrison-Qutana’s first major project saw Grdr phg out msag to Syrian refugee arrival areas Europe, tellg new arrivals about LGBTQ rourc the area. Once he saw how powerful the geo-targeted msag uld be, he started lookg for more plac to e them.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">In 2016, a human rights NGO lled Article 19 me to Harrison-Qutana wh a proposal: a massive survey of Grdr’s most vulnerable ers, fund by grants and sent out through Grdr’s direct msagg system and supplemented wh lol surveys and foc groups. The project would foc on three Middle Eastern untri wh different gre of reprsn: Egypt, Iran, and Lebanon. Egypt faced the most tense crackdown, but the threat had more to do wh police timidatn than actual nvictns. Iran fac a more subtle versn of the same threat, wh police more terted cultivatg rmants than raidg bathho and makg headl. Lebanon is seen as one of the bt plac to be gay the regn, even though homosexualy is still illegal there. The greatt threat is beg accintally outed at a ary checkpot and swept up a broar unterterrorism effort.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block md:float-left md:mr-30 md:w-[320px] lg:-ml-100"><div class="duet--article--article-pullquote mb-20"><div class="mb-10 h-[22px] w-[65px] bg-ankl"></div><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup relative bg-repeatg-l-dark bg-[length:1px_1.2em] pb-8 font-polysans text-28 font-medium leadg-120 trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:bg-repeatg-l-light dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple">Grdr ers 130 untri are able to change the way the app appears on the home screen </p></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">The project culmated an 18-person roundtable the followg summer, brgg together reprentativ om Grdr, Article 19, lol groups like EIPR, and digal rights technology groups like Wns and the Guardian Project. After Article 19 and lol groups prented <a href=">the rults of the survey</a>, the group puzzled through a seri of possible fix, votg on them one by one.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">“It was a very mocratic meetg,” said Article 19’s Afsaneh Rigot. “I was talkg about thgs we’d seen groups fd eful the past. The lol groups were talkg about what they thk uld help their muny. The technologists were talkg about the featur that they uld help create. And then people like Jack [Harrison-Qutana] om the bs si were talkg about what pani would be able to take on.” </p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">The end rult was a list of remendatns, some of which are already showg up Grdr. Sce October, Grdr ers 130 untri have been able to change the way the app appears on the home screen, replacg the Grdr in and name wh an nspicuo lculator app or other utily. Grdr also now featur an optn for a PIN, too, so that even if the phone is unlocked, the app won’t open whout an addnal pass. If you’re stopped at a checkpot (a mon occurrence untri like Lebanon), police won’t be able to spot Grdr by flippg through your phone. And if -workers or spic parents do tch on to the masked app, they won’t be able to open whout your permissn. It’s a small change — one many ers Egypt haven’t even noticed — but ’s a ser step forward for Article 19’s broar project.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Other remendatns were harr to implement. The group suggted that apps would be safer wh disappearg msag or imag that were harr to screenshot, but makg that change might cut too ep to the service self. It would be easier to slip a bchery se if those screenshots went to an -app gallery stead of the phone’s mera roll, but dog so would nfe a lot of ers and require ep chang how the app is engeered. The biggt ask was a panic button, which would let ers erase the app and ntact iends wh a sgle button prs if they realize they’ve been entrapped. So far, no app has built that kd of feature, and ’s not hard to see why. For every real er danger, there would be 10 accintal acunt wip. It would make ers safer, but would be worth the ictn? In the background, there is an even harr qutn: why is so hard for tech pani to take stock of this kd of risk?</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">For Dia Kayyali, a Wns program manager, the problem is built to the apps themselv — veloped cultur whout the threat of beg jailed or tortured for one’s sexual orientatn. “It’s much more difficult to create an app that functns well for gay men the Middle East,” Kayyali told me. “You have to addrs the fact that ernments have people who are specifilly manipulatg the platform to hurt people, and that’s a lot more work.” Wh founrs foced on growg first and askg qutns later, they often don’t realize what they’re takg on until ’s too late.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent clear-both block md:float-left md:mr-30 md:w-[320px] lg:-ml-100"><div class="duet--article--article-pullquote mb-20"><div class="mb-10 h-[22px] w-[65px] bg-ankl"></div><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup relative bg-repeatg-l-dark bg-[length:1px_1.2em] pb-8 font-polysans text-28 font-medium leadg-120 trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:bg-repeatg-l-light dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple">The problem is built to the apps themselv — veloped cultur whout the threat of beg jailed or tortured for one’s sexual orientatn</p></div></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">“What I would like is for platforms to be signed for the most margalized ers, the on most likely to be danger, the on most likely to need strong secury featur,” Kayyali said. “But stead, we have tools and platforms that are built for the biggt e s, bee that’s how palism works.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">Pullg out of untri like Egypt would certaly make bs sense: none of the untri volved are lucrative ad markets, particularly when you factor the st of velopg extra featur. But both apps are fully nvced of the value of the service they’re providg, even knowg the dangers. “In untri where ’s unsafe to be gay, where there are no gay bars, no clive sports teams, and no queer performance spac, the Grdr app provis our ers wh an opportuny to fd their muni,” Qutana-Harrison told me. Leavg would mean givg that up.</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">When Howell vised Egypt December for Hor, he me away wh a siar ncln. Hor has ma some small secury chang sce the trip, makg easier to add passwords or lete pictur, but the bulk of his work was tellg ers what was happeng and prsurg world lears to nmn . “[Egyptian ers] don’t want to shut down,” he told me. “Gay men will not go back to the closet. They’re not gog to abandon their liv. They’re not gog to abandon their inty even the harsht ndns. That’s what you’re seeg Egypt.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe">He was more skeptil about the value of the new secury measur. “I thk a false sense of secury n put ers harm’s way,” Howell said. “I thk ’s far more important to teach them about what the suatn really is and make sure they’re aware of .”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"><p class="duet--article--dangeroly-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph mb-20 font-fkroman text-18 leadg-160 -trackg-1 selectn:bg-ankl-20 dark:text-whe dark:selectn:bg-blurple [&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-ankl dark:[&_a:hover]:shadow-highlight-blurple [&_a]:shadow-unrle-black dark:[&_a]:shadow-unrle-whe after:absolute after:ml-8 after:mt-2 after:ntent-[url(/ins/)]">That leav LGBTQ Egyptians wh a fear that n build up unexpected ways. It h Omar a few weeks after the first raids this fall. It felt like there was a new arrt every day, and no place left that was safe. “I was walkg down the street, and I felt like there was someone followg me,” he told me. When he turned around to check, there was no one there. “It was that moment that I realized I am aaid for my life. The suatn is not safe here Egypt. It’s actually dangero. And then I cid, if ’s actually dangero, then ’s time to speak out.”</p></div><div class="duet--article--article-body-ponent"></div></div><div class="mb-40 mt-30"><button class="duet--article--ments-button group le-flex h-40 w-full ems-center jtify-center round-[2px] borr-[1px] borr-solid borr-blurple font-polysans-mono text-11 font-light upperse trackg-12 text-blurple hover:bg-blurple hover:text-whe md:w-to md:px-30"><svg class="mr-10 le pt-2" width="12" height="14" fill="none" viewBox="0 0 12 12" stroke-width="1px" xmlns="><tle>Comments
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