A Canadian man was denied entry to the U.S. after Border Patrol agents searched his phone and scrutinized his Scruff app account.
Scruff is a social network for gay men used for dating, hookups and making friends.
Agents suspected he was soliciting sex for money after discovering messages that said the man was "looking for loads."
The 30 year old set decorator told Canada's Daily XTRA that the experience was "humiliating".
After deleting all possibly-offending apps from his device, he tried to enter the U.S. again and was once again denied. This time, the agents determined the deletions to be "suspicious".
The CEO of Scruff, Eric Silverberg, addressed the situation:
“For Scruff members traveling to a country that may demand access to profiles and social media apps before entry, simply deleting the app and reinstalling upon re-entry is always an option.
Scruff synchronizes your profile to the cloud, so after reinstalling you may login to regain access to your messages, favorites, albums, etc.
That said, the best defense against unwarranted searches and seizures by the government is to work to elect leaders who share these ideals and values.”
h/t: Queerty
Photo: Getty Images