Turkish Court Blocks Nine Dating Apps, Including OkCupid and Feeld
An Istanbul criminal judgeship of peace ordered the blocks without public grounds. It is at least the third court action against dating platforms in Turkey this year.
A Turkish court has blocked access to nine dating and social networking platforms, including Match Group's OkCupid and the independent app Feeld, according to the Freedom of Expression Association (İFÖD), whose EngelliWeb project tracks access bans in Turkey. The order came from the İstanbul 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace, the Turkish news site Diken reported on November 6.
The nine platforms are OkCupid, Feeld, GROWLR, Zoe, Lex, Bindr, u4Bear, Disco and TheBlowers. Turkish Minute reported that EngelliWeb's announcement "did not specify the grounds for the ruling." Diken described the services as LGBTI+-focused dating and friendship platforms.
The order follows earlier action this year. Turkish Minute reported that Istanbul criminal judgeships of peace blocked the gay dating app Hornet on June 5 and 14 more platforms on June 12. Criminal judgeships of peace in Turkey can order access bans on websites and apps, and the orders often do not publish their reasoning.
Why it matters: Turkey is now using court orders, without stated grounds, to cut off dating apps that serve LGBTI+ users and open-relationship communities, and it is no longer limited to niche services: OkCupid is owned by the largest company in the category. Operators with users in Turkey should plan for sudden loss of access, and for the knock-on effects on app store visibility, payments and support when users switch to VPNs. Apps with inclusive identity and relationship options may face higher risk in markets moving in the same direction.
Sources: Turkish Minute: Turkey blocks access to 9 dating platforms, November 6, 2026 · Diken: Dokuz tanışma ve arkadaşlık platformu erişime engellendi, November 6, 2026
Key takeaways
- 01A Turkish court blocked nine dating and social platforms, including OkCupid and Feeld, according to İFÖD's EngelliWeb.
- 02The İstanbul 1st Criminal Judgeship of Peace issued the order; no grounds were made public.
- 03The other platforms are GROWLR, Zoe, Lex, Bindr, u4Bear, Disco and TheBlowers.
- 04Istanbul courts also blocked Hornet on June 5 and 14 platforms on June 12.
Reviewed by an operator. Last updated November 11, 2026. High Intent is led by founder and CEO Bill Alena, backed by a team of industry experts with over 100 years of online dating experience between them.
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