THEGAYUK

Category: News

  • Grindr has blocked you from seeing who blocked you

    Grindr has officially blocked you from seeing who blocked you.

    Goodbye to C*ckBlocked

    Information held about you is now being blocked from your view after Grindr patched a bug which allowed users to see who had blocked them.

    Now when a user visits the https://blocked.ongrindr.com/ website they are met with a user message which reads, “Goodbye C*ckBlocked. The first and only way to see who blocked you on Grindr. The API that provided for the data was patched by Grindr on March 23rd, 2018”

    However, if you’re in the UK, you still have certain rights to see information a company holds about you, which could mean any data that is held on your profile, which is not actually viewable by you through the app’s interface. Thanks to the Data Protection Act, if you really wanted to see what information the company holds about you, you can put in a request.

    New Ownership

    Grindr was wholly bought by a  Chinese gaming company earlier this year, meaning it is not under the LGBT ownership anymore.

    In 2016 Grindr’s founder Joel Simkhai announced that he had sold 60 percent of the dating app to the Chinese gaming firm Kunlun Tech Co. The remaining 40 percent has now been snapped up by the same firm in a deal thought to be worth $152 million.

    The initial purchase of just over 60 percent was thought to be worth $93 million.

  • Kenya Bans Controversial Forced Anal Examinations

    A court in Kenya has ruled that the controversial use of forced anal examinations on men suspect to be gay is unlawful, in a historic decision for the East African nation. The Court of Appeal in Mombasa ruled in favor of the National gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission that the practice violates human rights. (more…)

  • Gay couple killed together, when Miami bridge collapsed

    A couple who had been together for 21 years were killed when the Miami bridge collapsed on their car.

    (C) FACEBOOK

    Osvaldo “Ozzy” González, 57, and Alberto Arias, 54 were killed instantly when their car passed under a collapsing bridge in Miami.

    The couple, described as “soulmates”, who had been together for 21 years, had spent the morning helping Alberto’s mother move into their home. They went out to do some tasks, when their white Chevy truck passed under the Florida International University footbridge as it came crashing down on March 15th.

    The 862-tonne, 174ft (53m) bridge collapsed at 1:47 PM. It killed six victims who were passing under the bridge at the time of its failure. The footbridge was newly built and construction took just six hours.

    According to the Miami Herald, Alberto’s mother became worried after she heard about the disaster on local media and started to call her son’s mobile phone, but it was already too late.

    The couple owned a business together and were originally both from Cuba.

    Ozzy’s sister, Marisol González, said he was, “The best brother, friend, very cheerful, with a desire to live life to the fullest.”

    The couple will be buried together.

    Luis Arias, Alberto’s nephew said, “They were together for 21 years — they were partners,”

    “They were together in their ups they were together in their downs, they were together in their travels and enjoying life and they will be together when they are laid to rest.”

    Both families of the men are filing a lawsuit against the companies involved in the bridge collapse.

  • How to find out who blocked you on Grindr

    If you’re wondering who has blocked you on Grindr, there’s now a simple way of checking out.

    You’ll need to do these steps in an Internet browser. There is no way to do this inside the app.

    1. Firstly you need your login Email and your password, there will be a chance to change your password if you’ve forgotten it.
    2. Log on to https://blocked.ongrindr.com/.
    3. Enter the email address you signed up to Grindr with and then enter your password.
    4. If you need to change your password there’s an option to update.
    5. Once logged in you’ll be able to see who has blocked you.
    This is what the Blocked On Grindr front page looks like

    If you’re concerned about data,  Trever Faden who created the website gives these reassurances,

    “Luckily, someone finding out that you blocked them on Grindr isn’t a huge security vulnerability, as much as it is an awkward conversation waiting to happen. That said, when you block someone on Grindr, you do assume that information will stay somewhat private.

    “Sometimes that is unfortunately just an assumption, as we’ve seen with data breaches in the past at companies like Ashley Madison.

    “All of this data is safe, until it’s not, which, in my opinion, just means that if you really want to keep a secret–don’t send it through the internet.”

  • Outside of London, Birmingham is the randiest place in the UK

    New stats gathered by THEGAYUK, show that outside of London, Birmingham is the randiest place in the UK.

    Birmingham’s gay scene is thriving

    It seems as though gay and bisexual men in Birmingham can’t get enough of online hookups and chat sites. So much so, it is only second to London for online searches for gay hookups, gay chat and dating sites. Of course, Birmingham has one of the largest gay scenes in the UK, alongside Brighton, Manchester and of course, London.

    Analytics show that the Birmingham chat page is one of the most popular entry points to THEGAYUK.com for English cities, whilst Glasgow tops the list for Scottish cities. Cardiff is the number one for Wales, but 13th overall for the UK and Belfast is number one for Northern Ireland, but number 24 overall for the UK.

    The top ten list looks like this:

    1. London
    2. Birmingham
    3. Manchester
    4. Leeds
    5. Glasgow
    6. Bristol
    7. Liverpool
    8. Sheffield
    9. Nottingham
    10. Edinburgh

    Previously Essex had topped the list, but now doesn’t even register in the top 100 of visitor locations. Instead, Grimsby brings up the bottom of the league table at number 100 randiest place in Britain.

    Overall visitors from England make up 77% percent of all searches, Scottish visitors make up six percent of searches, the Welsh make up three percent and guys from Northern Ireland make up 1 percent.

     

  • Pulse gunman’s widow said ‘I knew’ about husband’s plot, FBI agent testifies

    ORLANDO, Fla. — In the hours after the massacre at Pulse nightclub, FBI Special Agent Ricardo Enriquez transcribed a statement from Noor Salman, the widow of shooter Omar Mateen. As he finished, he asked her to add a passage in her own writing, saying he had treated her fairly, he testified Monday. (more…)

  • Gotham Star, Cory Michael Smith comes out

    CREDIT: Gaga Skidmore/ Wikipedia
    CREDIT: Gaga Skidmore/ Wikipedia

    “Gotham” star Cory Michael Smith has come out as gay as he talked about his role as Adrian in the touching film, “1985.” The coming out film is all about a young man with AIDS who heads home to Texas for the holidays, which might be his last because of the disease. (more…)

  • Pulse survivors, first officer at the scene testify in Noor Salman’s trial

    ORLANDO, Fla. — Bobby Rodriguez was in the bathroom at Pulse nightclub when Omar Mateen opened fire, she said Wednesday, during the first day of testimony in the trial of Mateen’s widow, Noor Salman. “I panicked, I threw myself into the toilet seat and picked up my feet,” she recalled. (more…)

  • Indonesia makes the criticising of politicians a crime

    Indonesians could be jailed for criticising national politicians under a new law which came into force Thursday, in what critics slammed as a major step back for the world’s third-biggest democracy. The vaguely worded bill passed the 560-member house last month but has just become official, over the objections of President Joko Widodo who refused to sign off on the controversial legislation. (more…)

  • Is this Harry Styles’ coming out song?

    Is this Harry Styles’ coming out song?

    “The boys and the girls are here, I mess around with them, and I’m okay with it.”

    CREDIT: DFree/bigstock
    Did Harry Styles come out as bisexual?

    People are questioning whether Harry Styles has used a song to officially come out as bisexual and appeared on stage at his Parisian concert, with the rainbow pride flag.

    This isn’t the first time Harry Styles has talked about his sexuality, however. A few years ago he told a reporter during an interview, that gender wasn’t an important factor for him when looking for a mate. He said that a sense of humour and being natural was key for him.

    Is it all in the lyrics?

    Now, lyrics from a new song, “Medicine”,  have gotten people asking: is Harry Styles finally, definitely, officially coming out as bisexual?

    When he first sang the song, he fumbled and mumbled the cryptic lines, however at a recent concert, Harry sang them loud and proud.

    In the song, Harry sings: “…The boys and the girls are here, I mess around with them, and I’m okay with it. I’m coming down, I figured out I kinda like it, and when I sleep i’m gonna dream of how you tasted…”

    Flying the flag

    He also appeared on stage with the iconic LGBT symbol – the rainbow flag.

    Many are calling the song a new Bi Anthem!

  • Love, Simon film star comes out as gay

    “My mom knew. She laid hints for me everywhere.”

    JOEY publicly came out in an interview with the Advocate weeks before the release of Love, Simon

    Former Disney star, turned film star Joey Pollari has come out as gay, weeks before a film which he is appearing in, Love, Simon, is due to hit the big screen.

    Speaking to US magazine, The Advocate the star said the film’s lead character, Simon, had an experience that was similar to his own.

    He said that he came out to his friends and family when he was 18, saying that he thought that most of them “knew on some level”, but his mum always knew apparently. He revealed, “My mom knew. She laid hints for me everywhere.”

    The biggest hurdle he faced he said was coming out to himself. He told the magazine, “The only part that was difficult was me coming out to myself. And I think that is the most difficult coming out.”

    Speaking about why being out in public was important to him, Joey said, ”

    “It’s part of my goal to be more transparent, especially in the public sphere,

    “I think that’s a good thing. Anybody who’s out? It was helpful to me when I was in the closet. I think just adding another voice there is a good thing to do.”