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Scruff is just Grindr on steroids for some reason. People talk about Grindr guys being creepy and awful, but at least you deal with a wide variety of men. This app just has the worst of the awful guys, the lowest of the low in our community; it’s disgusting. This app is geared towards ‘masculine’ men, although it claims to be inclusive (more on that below), so you get all the toxic masculinity that comes along with it. I have been using this app for about 5 years and I’ve only hooked up twice from it for the first time this year. I’m not going to pretend to be a stud, but I’ve always had much better luck on Grindr. It’s only because the personalities of the guys on Scruff make me want to vomit so I lose interest quickly. Even if just for a quick hook up, it’s still not worth it. The app allows you to write more stuff on your profile than Grindr does, which makes some guys write entire essays about their likes and dislikes and that’s where you start seeing all the racism, and internalized homophobia even more. I could go on for hours writing about the kind of guys that get on the app, but it’s clear they only cater to a very particular audience. The app claims to be inclusive and what not, but even the staff is prejudiced. It’s clear that the good reviews mostly come from the same people who contribute the worst our community has to offer. To top it all off, the same guys will message you on Grindr, but not on Scruff. It makes no sense.

Unfortunately, after paying hundreds of dollars over the years to the Scruff developers, I won’t be giving them another dollar and I’m not alone... The app is going the way of Grindr rapidly because of delusional decisions in management, seemingly related to social engineering causes. They significantly lowered the refresh rate of the online global grid which facilitated high speed meeting of guys presumably because it allowed for refined selection of potential interests and this competes with the philosophy of the app developers who would like to see a less shallow gay culture. You can’t force people to talk to ugly guys, we will just leave your app for one that does provide gay online dating services at the same level as Scruff used to, and considering the money in this space, it won’t take long. Remember how quick Grindr’s fall was? I just refuse to support a ridiculous development team limiting their app for people who pay over a hundred dollars each year for pro service... especially when it would seem that not data, but instead ideology, is the reason for the regression. At least you now have a great my digital gay yearbook app... young people can just use 4chan or reddit to meet hot young gay guys if your app is broken and artificially delayed, you’re not going to singlehandedly dismantle beauty worship, it’s a feature of sexuality and one that should be celebrated.

I haven’t been on the apps in awhile because, you know, once in a lifetime pandemic and all, but I got tired of looking at cute boys outside my window. Tentatively, I dipped my toes back into the hookup app waters, just for a casual browse and perhaps an occasional chat. The events of the last few weeks, however, made me incredibly sensitive to the fragility of my black body and I wanted to send a message to everyone else on the grids: that black lives matter everywhere. I uploaded the BLM logo to my Grindr, Jack’d, and Scruff profiles. The first two accepted it with no problem, but Scruff rejected it multiple times until I sent a support request. They allowed it for about a day before rejecting it again, citing their guidelines. The same company that owns Scruff also owns Jack’d, btw. While it was annoying, Scruff’s decision felt like a continuation of the erasure and marginalization I’ve experienced as a queer black man on these apps. Erasure and marginalization that’s built into the very apps. Scruff shows little to no consideration for black people as it is but it’s a shame when Grindr has better practices than you.