Complaint Review: Scruff

I'm not even sure where to begin with my frustrations here.

A good place to start would be late 2018, when I joined. It was a paradise. Namely, a venue where we could meet other beautiful men and, aside from nudity, could essentially post any profile pics we pleased.

This all changed beginning in 2019 when Scruff.com sold out our freedoms so they didn't offend Google Play (an extremely flimsy, ruse of a reason if you ask me - but still, sad if true). In short, the new profile pic policy prohibited any bikini style (speedo) swimsuits, underwear, briefs, abundance of the "groin" area or any sexually "suggestive" image at their "discretion". The outline of the male anatomy showing through is the root of the garment ban.

And hence where the problem starts.

First off, a policy as such this to a grouping of gay men who have lived their lives full of discrimination, ridicule and hate are further shamed by this policy - I don't care what Scruff choses to call it, it's shaming. A pic in your briefs or speedos is hardly pornograpy and hardly worthy of being flagged and making this grouping of men suddenly feel indecent. Hey, Scruff higher-ups, you all grew up gay; don't you realize how absurdly wrong this is?

Second; this policy is virtually impossible to enforce fairly.

I was flagged for having a picture in a pair of boxer brief trunks cut mid thigh length - very model-like, classy and hardly distasteful. They sited this as being in violation of their new underwear “policies” but allow plenty of other guys to post speedo and speedo looking underwear pics - far skimpier; and they are not flagged. They are not removed. If Scruff is going to have such a stringent new “brief underwear” policy they need to triple the enforcement of it - why do some guys get to keep pics up in their briefs while removing others? And who decides? Algorithms? Someone at a desk in India? This is a very troublesome new “policy”.

Then, I replace the photo with a shirtless bathroom mirror selfie wearing gym shorts. Nothing hanging “out” and nothing creeping - and they again remove it. No specific reason. They just take my photo off. Again, who decides who’s picture goes and who’s can stay? Even more troublesome is if it’s a human being behind a desk why does he/she keep some profile pics while others must go. Completely hypocritical with a biased sense of subjectivity.

I was, before I cancelled my membership, a paid Pro-subscriber. I was paying $14.99 a month for such perks as no ads (very nice), unlimited inbox messages, unlimited photo album storage and priority "online now" exposure. But inexplicably, when opening a ticket with Support, they are as slow as molasses. So I get to spend fifteen dollars a month to be shamed, to be unjustly flagged and removed for pictures that are not inappropriate, and to be essentially sandbagged when I raise questions to Support.

I requested a March refund from Apple and I was told, even before it could be "reviewed", that my purchase was not eligible for a refund. Ridiculous. So I take the power of the pen, and of the consumer and let RipoffReport be my voice. 

If you value your freedoms, your dollar and integrity, steer clear of Scruff.