Table 1.
Descriptions of Internet Platforms.
| Bender | BGCLive | Grindr | Growlr | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Enables communication with men interested in dating men | Enables communication with gay, bisexual, and transgender Black and Latino men | Enables communication with friends | Enables communication with men interested in men | Enables communication with gay bears | Enables sharing of media content | Enables sharing of aggregated social news |
| Type | Geosocial networking | Social networking | Social networking | Geosocial networking | Geosocial networking | Social bookmarking | Social bookmarking |
| Device(s) | Mobile | Mobile/website | Mobile/website | Mobile | Mobile | Mobile/website | Mobile/website |
| Target population | Gay, bisexual, and curious men aged 18 years or older | Black and Latino gay, bisexual, and transsexual men and women | Anyone aged 13 years or older | Gay, bisexual, and curious men aged 18 years or older | Bear MSM aged 18 years or older | Anyone aged 13 years or older | Anyone aged 13 years or older |
| Free to use? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free features | Create a profile, private messaging, built-in messaging language translation, filtered user searches, profile tracking, four-digit personal identification number app protection | Create a profile, private messaging, chat rooms, stories, discussion forum, gay-/bisexual-themed videos, friend list, saving other profiles | Create a profile, private messaging, friend list, status updates, personalized newsfeed, games | Create a profile, private messaging, filtered user searches, saving other profiles | Create a profile, private messaging, filtered user searches, saving other profiles | Browse/submit/discuss pins and pin boards | Subscribe to subreddits, browse/submit/discuss links and text posts |
| Paid version available? | Yes (Bender X) | No | No | Yes (Grindr Xtra) | No | No | Yes |
| Paid features | Saving photos and videos, additional photos to your profile, making photos private, sending longer length videos, priority app support services, no advertisements | NA | NA | Display more users, advanced filtered user searches, no advertisements | NA | NA | Advanced browsing, no advertisements |
Note. MSM = men who have sex with men; NA = not applicable.