Now, an Android app for the LGBT community

For over three years, IT professional Sukhdeep Singh has been running an online magazine focussed on the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in India.

After work hours, a group of 10 scattered around the country have doubled as editors, tech support and even done on-the-ground reporting on events and issues that involve the community. Last week, on Valentine’s Day, the group launched an official app for the magazine, called ‘Gaylaxy’, and with it plans to do much more than a magazine.

“Currently all we have is a lot of dating apps,” says Mr. Singh. “We wanted to have a social app where we can not only share articles but also allow for interaction, provide information on events or pride marches, and create a support-system like platform for members of the community,” he said. The decision to move to the mobile platform was provoked by the fact that a majority of traffic to the online site was from mobile phones. The e-zine is also available in Hindi.

After the Supreme Court verdict recriminalising gay sex, the group decided that such a forum was necessary. Apurv Gupta, who manages the tech side, said plans are on to also make the app available for iOS and Windows devices. “Now our focus is on making this as current, relevant and interactive as possible,” he added.