Blued, one of the biggest gay dating apps in the world, has succeeded because it plays by the ever-shifting rules for L. China — bringing together a minority community without activism. Illustration by Timo Lenzen.

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By Yi-Ling Liu. L ike many gay Chinese growing up at the turn of the millennium, Duan Shuai began his long, deliberate process of coming out online. After school, he would visit the newly opened internet cafe in his hometown, Xinzhou, a small city in Shanxi Province bounded by a veil of mountains.

He would pick a desktop facing away from the wall so that nobody could look over his shoulder. Offline, Duan had known for a long time that he was different — and he knew no one else like him. Even in grade school, while his male classmates talked about girls, he nursed a secret crush on a boy, a gregarious, basketball-playing class monitor. Online, he stumbled into a world where he finally felt he belonged, a place where gay people like himself sought kinship and connection. Duan was moved by one scene in particular, in which the businessman brings his lover home for the Chinese New Year to share a customary hotpot meal with his family.

He caught a glimpse into a future he never knew existed — a future that was perhaps within his reach too. As Duan came of age, so did the Chinese internet. Today that number has swelled to more than million, and a vast majority of them are using mobile devices. Whereas Duan once sought out gay communities in small groups and quiet bars, today, as a year-old working in publishing in Beijing, he can join gay meet-ups on WeChat; follow blogs and coming-out stories on Weibo , a Twitter-like platform; and, perhaps most crucial, he can connect and find partners on Blued, a gay social networking app.

There are other options — Grindr operates in China — but Blued is the most popular by far.

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China is home to an L. But according to a United Nations estimate , less than 5 percent of gay Chinese choose to come out.

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It is easily among the most popular gay dating apps in the world. Like WeChat, Blued aspires to be a Swiss Army knife for its users, absorbing features from other apps, like newsfeeds and livestreaming functions — as well as real-world resources like H. Blued is in a peculiar position: It might be the biggest app of its kind, yet it is also the most precarious.

It is a tech company in a society that has been transformed by free-market reforms, but also a gay tech company operating under a one-party government with an ambiguous stance toward L. On one hand, the rise of the Chinese internet, facilitated by the last three decades of market reforms, has allowed for unprecedented connection and visibility for gay communities in China.

Popular Chinese shows with gay story lines were removed from screening sites. One gay-dating app, Zank, was shut down by the government, and a lesbian-dating app, Rela, disappeared shortly after. By staying within the commercial and public-health sectors and framing the fight for gay recognition in terms of business, the company, under the leadership of its founder and chief executive, Geng Le, has cultivated a minority community free of political activism.

The company has cultivated strategic relationships within the government and raised L. Blued and its related services operate under the aegis of Blue City, which is also the name of its two-story headquarters in central Beijing. Employees have enjoyed classic start-up benefits like free lunch and company beach retreats, some with a queer twist, like a drag performance at the Lunar New Year; company swag has included plush toys of a unicorn with a rainbow horn.

Danlan was the bare-bones, browser-based website that Geng created nearly two decades ago. In his darker moments, he would sit by the beach and look out into the waves to calm himself down. He broke down in tears while reading it because he realized he was not alone. Like the sea — faraway, yet full of possibility — Danlan would be a sanctuary for gay men to express their hopes and fears. Historically, Chinese society has neither recognized nor shunned its queer communities. Chinese religious traditions like Buddhism and Confucianism do not overtly condemn homosexuality, which means that cultural attitudes are more malleable there than in other Asian countries like Indonesia or the Philippines.

Nor was homosexuality considered by authorities to be a decadent Western import; on the contrary, it is widespread and recognized in Chinese history and culture.

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Still, homosexuality was formally considered a mental illness until But in recent years, the government has neither expressed explicit support for the L. And there is also the possibility of creating groups where users can launch discussions, organize events, cooperate and collaborate with NGOs. This is the social network aspect and we are obsessed with it. There is also a collaboration with the Trevor Project meaning users can contact Trevor immediately from their profiles and the possibility of making video calls, meaning Taimi is one of the best gay apps currently out there!

So get downloading now to form quality connections, stay safe and share without being judged! As you might guess from the name, Scruff is the slightly rough-around-the-edges version of Grindr, developed for those guys who like a little, well, scruff! The users tend to be that bit more masc and a little older than on Grindr, although with its growing popularity there are plenty to choose from. You can scroll for nearby and around the world, so could always set up a meet-up in your destination in advance. While there are a lot of similarities between Hornet and Grindr, the newer Hornet works much more smoothly, with less of the irritating ads that pop up on Grindr to get in between you and your new piece of eye candy.

What makes Hornet so great for gay travelers are the community features that help users network beyond dating. It started in Berlin and has now spread around the world and, while heavy on the hook-ups, also enables users to find friends, dates or learn more about LGBT issues. It aims to be a safe and friendly environment where you can live your queer life to the fullest.

The app is free and it just takes creating a quick profile to get you in touch with tonnes of guys all over the world. Wait, what? This is the largest gay social network in the world? Well, it was developed in China and the majority of its 27 million users are there. Internet censorship is rife in China and Blued is a way of getting around the banning of sites like Grindr. Its founder is a former policeman and committed to LGBT rights and we love that the network is now in partnership with Hornet.

Although it might have been set up as a Grindr for straight people, there are now lots of gays using it; just set your preferences and enjoy the wealth of choice there. Calling all bears, or fans of bears; this is the gay hookup app for you. Businesses might even use their Growlr HOT!

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Spot feature to give app users Pro features. This works in a similar way to Grindr and Scruff — you get matched with someone who catches your eye and then the two of you take it from there.

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What makes it a bit different is its aim of avoiding bigotry and negativity that can be found on other apps and there is subsequently more diversity here. Surge is another like-Tinder-but-not app that proves useful when traveling again because it dodges the censors due to its generally low profile. The app actively encourages people to use it when traveling and wants to create a community worldwide, so why not be part of that? Right, Mr.