Pride month is a time to celebrate and uplift the LGBTQ+ community and their rights to be their authentic selves and pursue love happily – so ensuring safety and comfort on dating apps is a top priority.
Along with well-documented issues on the apps like catfishing and ghosting, there is also the fear of being outed, misunderstood or mislabeled for those who do not present as cisgender or straight.
As a result, many users choose to browse their potential matches while using anonymous profiles themselves, meaning it is not uncommon for users to have blacked-out pictures and no names.
Gay dating app user Daniel, 22, from Manchester, said: “The reason I don’t fill my profiles out in full is because nobody else does, so it’s a follow-the-crowd type thing where I don’t want to upset the norm.
He added: “I think it’s a real barrier to authenticity, having no faces or names, and if I saw someone on Hinge or Tinder with an anonymous profile, I would say no right away.”
The University of Edinburgh’s Dr. Adam Waldman observed the profiles of users on gay dating sites Grindr and Scruff in a 2017 study, and found that a staggering 68.8% of the photos in his sample of profiles were anonymized.
Frequent Hinge user Liam, 23, from London, said: “I really understand and empathize with why people would choose to use a pseudonym or go anonymous.
“It can be scary for absolutely anyone, putting themselves out there online, but if you’re not even ‘out’ comfortably to your family and friends, then that just adds another layer of worry and anxiety.”
That anxiety could be in part due to the increased likelihood of an LGBTQ+ user facing offensive or discriminatory language on dating platforms, as the Pew Research Center found in 2020 that 41% of lesbian, gay and bisexual online daters had reported being called derogatory names on the apps, compared to 25% of heterosexual daters – and this only includes the users willing to report abuse.
Another Hinge user Rishi, 24, shared his tips for staying safe on the apps, advising that one should always plan to meet in a public space on a first date, so that there is easy access to other people, just in case things don’t go according to plan.
Rishi said: “Even with just your name and your location, people can do a lot, so especially with queer dating, it’s important that you air on the side of caution because you never know people’s intentions.
“And most importantly, if you ever get a bad feeling, trust your intuition.”
In 2022, Hinge launched a collaboration with LGBTQIA+ influencers and activists, called “Not-so Frequently Asked Questions (NFAQs)”, an in-app resource to guide users around key topics such as dating while closeted, matching with an ex’s ex, understanding demisexuality, establishing boundaries, and affirming gender identities.
Hinge also allows daters to choose from a wide variety of gender and sexuality options and relationship types, including the opportunity to write-in one’s own description of how they identify.
The app reminds its users during profile creation and preference editing that honest self-expression is integral for safe dating experiences, both for the user and their matches.
This is a necessary reminder, as Hinge’s 2025 LGBTQIA+ Data, Advice, Trends and Expertise report revealed that approximately 50% of daters in the community felt pressure to appear more masculine or feminine in order to attract more dates.
The NFAQ resource will benefit from regular updates as users submit their own questions, meaning that the line of communication will stay accessible as these important conversations continue on.
Online dating can be a positive experience for the LGBTQ+ community, and an IPSOS survey in 2023 found that it is a favored method of making new connections, as 32.79% of UK-based gay or lesbian users surveyed said they were on dating apps and spent on average 513 minutes on the sites – more than double the amount of time as straight users.
The chance to find community and connections while dating online can make it a rewarding and exciting adventure, but users should ensure that they curate their profiles with the necessary safeguards to protect their privacy, whether this be location hiding, blocking or reporting harmful profiles/messages, or using incognito mode.
For more information on how to stay safe while enjoying online dating, visit Switchboard, It Gets Better UK or Galop.
Featured Image Credit: Unsplash
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