Review Insights · App Store
SCRUFF - Gay Dating & Chat
Perry Street Software, Inc · 25,352 ratings · ★ 4.4
4.4
★★★★★
25,352 ratings
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Top complaints - extracted from 77 negative reviews
Recurring phrases mined from 1-2★ reviews. The bigger the percentage, the more users have the same problem. Fix the top 2-3 in your version and you have product-market fit on day one.
1
"people"
17 negative reviews mention this · 22% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Block. You shouldn’t be allowed to force people to pay to be able to have the security of blocking someone" - ReadyT120
2
"scruff"
15 negative reviews mention this · 19% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Scruff (Overall). I don’t have any personal issues with this platform. However, I just wanted to say that signing up and being on Scruff in an effort to get out of my comfort zone and feel validated/seen in the LGBTQIA+ Community for the past 48 hours was a …" - AKAJulianWorthington
3
"profiles"
12 negative reviews mention this · 16% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Getting worse. The app continues it downward slide. Poor vetting of profiles with lots of new profiles that pop up that are massage scammers. The latest release puts the new profiles list front and center for nearby. Guess what 3 of them were massage scam…" - jharders
4
"been"
11 negative reviews mention this · 14% of all complaints
★★★★★ "What?. I liked using this app till I got suspended with no warning for “spam”. Mind you I was using the app for its intended purpose. I’ve reached out on numerous occasions about this and how to get my account back and I’ve heard nothing back. Bee…" - Kkrolling420
5
"account"
10 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Account keeps getting suspended. My account keeps getting suspended for 24 hours at a time.. despite me paying for the app. I’ve now lost probably a month I’ve paid for, and support doesn’t care. It’s more a scam than an app." - MikeyUSC
6
"someone"
10 negative reviews mention this · 13% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Block. You shouldn’t be allowed to force people to pay to be able to have the security of blocking someone" - ReadyT120
7
"behind"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Pretty much a walking lawsuit. It's one star alone for putting a basic safety feature behind paywall. Yep- you have to pay to block people, so if you have stalkers or people who harass you digitally, you need to subscribe in order to block them from contacting you." - EvanDaniel92
8
"paywall"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Pretty much a walking lawsuit. It's one star alone for putting a basic safety feature behind paywall. Yep- you have to pay to block people, so if you have stalkers or people who harass you digitally, you need to subscribe in order to block them from contacting you." - EvanDaniel92
9
"moments"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "I HATE moments. Let me disable moments. I don't care about them and it's basically unsolicited pornography. Everyone has their reasons for using Scruff and that is NOT what I'm using it for. The fact I can't disable it is really annoying and looking at the…" - DBSnola
10
"features"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Awful app. Scruff used to be a great app; but now every feature is pretty much behind a paywall. You can’t have features for free then suddenly make users pay to add favorites and now you can’t even block someone unless you’re a paying user. So if som…" - Esq-1
11
"users"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Awful app. Scruff used to be a great app; but now every feature is pretty much behind a paywall. You can’t have features for free then suddenly make users pay to add favorites and now you can’t even block someone unless you’re a paying user. So if som…" - Esq-1
12
"unless"
9 negative reviews mention this · 12% of all complaints
★★★★★ "Awful app. Scruff used to be a great app; but now every feature is pretty much behind a paywall. You can’t have features for free then suddenly make users pay to add favorites and now you can’t even block someone unless you’re a paying user. So if som…" - Esq-1
📋 All 77 negative reviews
Every 1-2★ review we fetched. Use the copy button to grab them all for your own analysis (paste into ChatGPT/Claude with a prompt like "summarize core user problems, group by theme, ignore bugs, focus on missing features").
Account keeps getting suspended
My account keeps getting suspended for 24 hours at a time.. despite me paying for the app. I’ve now lost probably a month I’ve paid for, and support doesn’t care. It’s more a scam than an app.
Ruined App
I’ve had this app for over a decade, and enjoyed it for a while. But over the years, they’ve changed it for the worse. Besides the terrible design layout, anyone can falsely report you. They suspended me immediately and threatened me because somehow I’m “soliciting” yet when I ask what specifically I did, they just send me a general screen shot threatening to permanently ban me for “soliciting” and they refuse to actually communicate with their own words about what I did wrong and what the violation was. So needless to say, this app is completely gone now. Absolute frustration and annoyance.
Horrible App
Posted a cute photo of me with my dog and it got removed for violating their guidelines. This is a terrible app. It used to be fun one… not any more. Zero stars
Scruff (Overall)
I don’t have any personal issues with this platform. However, I just wanted to say that signing up and being on Scruff in an effort to get out of my comfort zone and feel validated/seen in the LGBTQIA+ Community for the past 48 hours was a complete waste of my time/energy for my neurodivergent brain. I honestly prefer to make meaningful connections with those in the LGBTQIA+ Community on mainstream social media platforms (Twitter, Instagram/Threads, Bluesky, etc.) and show up to as many places/events as possible.😔💔
Terrible app
I downloaded the app and filled all the fields out. I was not interested in putting my photo on the app however it constantly hounds you for one, so I put some random photo which gets taken down because supposedly you have to be in the image. You also get so many spam accounts messing you, so I don’t log in for over a week or so then receive a email saying my account was suspended for spam lol I kid you not i haven’t logged in over a week, I think I might have only talked to one or two people at the most and I’m spamming? However there are much better apps out there which is also one of the reasons I stopped logging in so no real loss.
Pretty much a walking lawsuit
It's one star alone for putting a basic safety feature behind paywall. Yep- you have to pay to block people, so if you have stalkers or people who harass you digitally, you need to subscribe in order to block them from contacting you.
Privacy.
You do not need microphone access to enable the camera for a picture....
Haven’t fixed my problem yet
This app sucks, I can’t access it due to frozen advertising
Getting worse
The app continues it downward slide. Poor vetting of profiles with lots of new profiles that pop up that are massage scammers. The latest release puts the new profiles list front and center for nearby. Guess what 3 of them were massage scammers.
I HATE moments
Let me disable moments. I don't care about them and it's basically unsolicited pornography. Everyone has their reasons for using Scruff and that is NOT what I'm using it for. The fact I can't disable it is really annoying and looking at the reviews it's not just me who thinks that. I know a ton of people IRL who are also annoyed by the feature and have started to use Scruff less.
Good luck
This app is an offensive app so full of hate, bigotry, censorship, couples, and drug abusing guys it’s a total waste of space.
Have yourself a couple or guys who never meet but not the good ones. The app is pretty awful and promotes drug use and promotes sleeping with multiple partners.
Definitely not a kind and friendly place to look for a good date!!! Highly recommend trying elsewhere.
This appears to be a place men go when they don’t fit in anywhere else.
Tons of drug ads. I do not need drugs to be gay, get it up, be as active as needed, or be healthy to start. Seems all these guys are shooting up on something that gets advertised here.
Have yourself a couple or guys who never meet but not the good ones. The app is pretty awful and promotes drug use and promotes sleeping with multiple partners.
Definitely not a kind and friendly place to look for a good date!!! Highly recommend trying elsewhere.
This appears to be a place men go when they don’t fit in anywhere else.
Tons of drug ads. I do not need drugs to be gay, get it up, be as active as needed, or be healthy to start. Seems all these guys are shooting up on something that gets advertised here.
Awful app
Scruff used to be a great app; but now every feature is pretty much behind a paywall. You can’t have features for free then suddenly make users pay to add favorites and now you can’t even block someone unless you’re a paying user. So if someone is harassing you or something you can’t even block them unless you give scruff your money. Another app gone down the drain.
Desperate for Money
More than half the app and features are locked behind a paywall they are so desperate to make you pay $90+ a year it's giving pathetic. What do you mean I can't send my own photos??
Denied photos
Photos are always denied stating that I’m nude when reality I am fully clothed in the photos or it’s not me in the photos when I go to verify that it’s me always get the same copy and paste response “ apologies for this error, kindly re-upload photos so we can manually approved it on your account. Michelo Customer Support Associate Perry Street Software Inc”
Why.
Can’t access my own photos unless I pay?? That’s insane. If you go beyond the 2 recent photos then it’s just hidden. You can’t save your own photos from chats, you can’t screenshot it either. Very bizarre business practice.
What?
I liked using this app till I got suspended with no warning for “spam”. Mind you I was using the app for its intended purpose. I’ve reached out on numerous occasions about this and how to get my account back and I’ve heard nothing back. Been waiting for almost 4 months and I’m still suspended and haven’t heard back.
Boring after making a subscription
I don’t know if it’s only me that keep experiencing this but when I send messages it usually go through but as soon as I make a subscription, whenever I send messages it always say message send error and even if the one I’m messaging is offline it always say message have been read meanwhile the one whom I send the message to is not even online
Scruff has entered bad app territory
Love this app, been using it for years. Over the last 6-8 months, there’s been an increase in spam accounts, and it’s getting next to impossible to feel confident a profile is real since there is not much priority in verified profiles. Folks are allowed to have incomplete profiles, screenshots as profile pictures, and just overall low quality profiles. I moved away from Growlr cause of things like this and it seems to be creeping its way over. I hope the team behind scruff does the right thing to improve these things whereas Growlr went the profit route and ignores it all. Dropping this rating down to 1 star. Between the obvious spam accounts that they should be able to quickly wipe out and letting everyone use “Hello!” (Usually a spam account) as a username it’s getting rough. It must be a theme of all apps geared towards gay men are meant to ignore the consumers and let things run rampant for profit.
SLOOOOW
Crashes and bugs. It’s so bad and the servers are soooooo slow. Way too many scammers and bots
Forces you to pay to block
There are violent, deranged and creepy people everywhere. Including in scruff. You have to pay now to block people. Profit over safety huh Scruff?
It’s not loading
It’s saying it need the newer version
2 death threats then banned for impersonating someone (in AZ). This app is a security nightmare
My reviews are being astroturfed. Two of them have been deleted.
I can almost guarantee you that unverified profiles are able to send malicious payloads/malware through (disappearing) photos. The app auto loads the photos (I bet the phone does not even sandbox them) my phone started working extremely slow after opening a couple photos from some user.
This app is riddled with bots, scammers, and you know the other weird kkkind. 🇺🇸
Stay away. This app is dangerous and a security nightmare.
I can almost guarantee you that unverified profiles are able to send malicious payloads/malware through (disappearing) photos. The app auto loads the photos (I bet the phone does not even sandbox them) my phone started working extremely slow after opening a couple photos from some user.
This app is riddled with bots, scammers, and you know the other weird kkkind. 🇺🇸
Stay away. This app is dangerous and a security nightmare.
Terrible
Finished my profile, got 2 back to back full screen popup ads, finally went to go look for profiles and i couldn’t find an age filter. I scrolled a few times down, found a profile, clicked it, and i got hit with a paywall. Terrible app would rate 0 stars if i could
An app of “people” that need therapy
Dating apps are exploiting the human need for connection. They are creating the problem they say they solve. Delete this app and seek therapy.
Ipad UI is broken and unusable.
Fix the ipad version.
Too much locked down
Can’t even read a whole coversation with someone or see the pics they’ve sent in chat unless a paid member. Crazy. For advertisers … that forces people to go to snap or other chats and lose ad views
Limitations are dangerous
It’s inappropriate to require a paid subscription in order to block another user. There are so numerous spam bots, and in addition if you were being harassed by someone, you should have the ability to block them without having to pay. This policy makes this app unsafe for users unless they are willing to pay. This wasn’t always the policy and they certainly should change it.
Horrible app
Very bad app, it uses data, allows men with STD’s to post sexual content and will make your phone crash , very bad app don’t use it
Becoming money hungry like Grindr
Limited views now, less free profiles before paywall, asking you to pay now for exceeding blocks. Guess it’s sniffies for now until they decide to go back to being user driven instead of obscenely and unnecessarily profit driven 🙄
Filters are gone
I’ve used scruff for many years, and until recently, I was able to apply filters to find guys. Now, there’s absolutely no filtering for free anymore. Just makes it pointless for me to use because my area is predominantly older people. I’m in my 20’s, let me find people closer to my age than 50’s/60’s please. Very disappointed.
They throttle blocks. Unlimited creeps
I've been with scruff for about a year and they finally throttled my blocks. I can't block, hide, ignore creeps without inserting my credit card. Hard no Scruff. You can have em.
Account suspension
I got suspended, I’m not sure why, I was never told why, I can’t create an account anymore, and now I hate this app. I mean, I already hated it since it’s rife with racism and, like Grindr, forces you to pay to basically use the app. Queer people really need to demand more for themselves and from these apps that clearly don’t care anything about us except making money.
the subscription is getting wild
you really can’t do much unless you plan on paying for a subscriptions and the prices aren’t worth what the app offers.
Paywall for BLOCKING??
Never in my life have I seen an app charge you for blocking someone. Thats a huge safety issue if someone is dealing with a stalker. Do better.
Ads
Whenever I get on the app a ad shows up on my screen and it let me exit out of it, even when I press the exit button! I just leave the app! It’s been doing this for months now.
Not a good app
Unless you pay $120 a year, this is not a good app. Most basic features related to dating/hookup apps are behind paywalls. As a security professional, you can tell they are not policing their sign ups by the number of bots that flood the grid with obvious fake profiles. Be prepared for a subpar experience and constant pop-ups to pay for features. Perry Street Software needs your money.
so progressive! a money-grab but this time for gay people!
this app doesn't exist for any other purpose except to take your money. you'll have not one but two full screen ads every single time you open the app. x out of one full screen app and you immediately get your second one.
once you get past the oh-so-thoughtfully targeted prep ads, every. single. feature. of the app. has a paywalled limit. you can't even view all of your MESSAGES without paying for a subscription. its less free version vs paid version and more trial version vs full version.
also the CONSTANT moments notifications are the worst thing that any app has ever introduced. the reason they won't let you turn it off is because they think it'll make you open the app and spend more time on it. and they can show you more ads. it's all very deliberate and makes this app a garbage pit.
once you get past the oh-so-thoughtfully targeted prep ads, every. single. feature. of the app. has a paywalled limit. you can't even view all of your MESSAGES without paying for a subscription. its less free version vs paid version and more trial version vs full version.
also the CONSTANT moments notifications are the worst thing that any app has ever introduced. the reason they won't let you turn it off is because they think it'll make you open the app and spend more time on it. and they can show you more ads. it's all very deliberate and makes this app a garbage pit.
Homophobia masquerading as “inclusivity”
Scruff lauds itself as an “inclusive” app where everyone is supposed to be able to feel safe expressing themselves freely. The problem with that is that it had erased a space for same-sex attracted men and allowed it to be colonized by men larping as women, and women larping as men. Then when gay men say they are not interested in dating these types
Individuals, they get attacked and banned from the app. Gay men, like lesbian women, are being shamed, shunned, silenced, and verbally assaulted by trans/queer activists for defending our sex based rights and spaces. Scruff actively engages in homophobia and gay erasure and packages it as being “inclusive”. Stop the gaslighting. It may take the tickle V Giggle case in Australia to make these apps realize they have an obligation to uphold sex based rights for same-sex attracted individuals.
Individuals, they get attacked and banned from the app. Gay men, like lesbian women, are being shamed, shunned, silenced, and verbally assaulted by trans/queer activists for defending our sex based rights and spaces. Scruff actively engages in homophobia and gay erasure and packages it as being “inclusive”. Stop the gaslighting. It may take the tickle V Giggle case in Australia to make these apps realize they have an obligation to uphold sex based rights for same-sex attracted individuals.
Typical app hiding anything meaningful behind a paywall.
Pushes multiple intrusive full screen ads and the PRO page around every single turn. Online status, Only Profiles with Photos, Age, Height, Weight, Body Hair, Ethnicity, Sex Preferences, Relationships, and Open To filters are all locked behind the PRO paywall. Basic filters are limited to one making this app less useful Grindr. There is no point in me using this app if I cannot filter based on my preferences and am only limited to a handful of cards to match each day. I do not want people 20-30 years older approaching me in apps like these. Account deleted and will not recommend to others.
Ugh, have they tried being less awful?
The notifications about Moments waiting for you are spam that goes directly against Apple’s design guidelines, and there’s no way to turn them off, making me less likely in general to use the app. Make an app that works well enough that I *want* to give you money rather than constantly ens***tifying it to try and *make* me give you money for a functional app. Even when I did give them money I didn’t feel like a valued customer because my dyed hair tripped their auto-rejection system. Be better to queer folk in the future.
It’s fine. Support is awful
Using Face ID to access app made the app unusable
Too many scam accounts. 🙄
The verification process is a joke. My verification photo was rejected because it “didn’t clearly show my face”. It did.
Too many scam accounts. 🙄
The verification process is a joke. My verification photo was rejected because it “didn’t clearly show my face”. It did.
App won’t update
I have uninstalled and reinstalled this app a half dozen times and I’m still not able to create moments for others to see or view moments that others have sent to me. This feels like a gimmick in order for me to upgrade to the pro version which I don’t appreciate.
What Happened to This App?
It seems like there are less guys on here. I def don’t get as much exposure in the global grid as I once used to. I’ve also noticed with time features have been put behind overpriced paywalls, others have been removed entirely. I know if I get a response it’ll be the generic “oh well we took them away because not many people were using them.” But I know that’s not true. Really sad for what’s become of this app.
Annoying and invasive
The constant notifications about "moments". I don't give a care about what story someone who viewed my profile 5 years ago posted. Replying to messages through the notification usually fails to send and you get no notification that it failed. Too much information given to crazy users to monitor you. I don't need them knowing my location AND when I was last active. The long skinny cropping of photos is ridiculous. Blocks are limited unless you pay. Pretty sure that's illegal and that's why Grindr had to remove that feature. Too many fails here.
Paywall blocks
They limit blocks and make you pay for more. Pretty sure that’s not even legal, but I’m deleting my account permanently because of it. No app full of creepy horny men should EVER limit blocks.
Disappointing customer service
Found a bug and reported it 3 days ago and I just kept getting the runaround on fixing it. They keep saying to reboot, reinstall, log out, login. I proved
that there’s a bug between version 7.59 and 7.60. They still have yet to acknowledge it. This is frustrating since I’m a paid member and it’s a pro feature that’s not working.
that there’s a bug between version 7.59 and 7.60. They still have yet to acknowledge it. This is frustrating since I’m a paid member and it’s a pro feature that’s not working.
لا يعمل لدي برنامج
لدي مشكله في البرنامج لا يعمل معي
Very shady app
I paid for a subscription through Apple and never got upgraded and was told they have no recorded even with proof from Apple directly. Avoid giving this app any money!!!
Hostile Design
Scruff, of all the apps I use, is the most hostile to free users. Free users are placed on the Global list and cannot be removed without paying for premium. Free users are not able to effectively filter out profiles we don’t want to interact with through search features, and must instead view the same people every login or pay to access premium search features (which include basic things such as age and compatibility). Free users can’t refer back to old messages; those are hidden unless you pay for premium, so if you forgot someone’s name, too bad! Free users don’t even have control of our privacy on the app. It’s frankly shocking that the app allows free users to even sign in, view profiles, and send messages. It’s painfully obvious that this app is owned and run by a team that cares only for maximizing profit and shareholder revenue, even if it means creating an overall one-star user experience.
Problems after problem
I’ve somehow been blocked from using this app. I haven’t done anything to anyone or said anything. I even went as far as having my profile verified however I couldn’t send or receive messages to anyone. I even went above and beyond to reach out to customer service by opening a ticket. Guess what NO ONE ever replies back. And no nothings in my junk folders. It’s horrible customer service at best. But I’d like to know why my device was blocked? No one ever replies to give a reason.
+ 27 more in the clipboard copy
Sentiment summary
85%
Positive (4-5★)
5%
Neutral (3★)
10%
Negative (1-2★)