changing HIV status in an ad

[viewing ownly]

Today was the first day I saw this, which I found to be rather alarming. How can one advertise as HIV +, undetectable and on ART, to then listing HIV - with a laundry list of exact dates of all kinds of shots received?

Am I behind the times and it's now possible to no longer be HIV + permanently? I find the man attractive, and his health status, while appreciating (initially) being forward with his status to be a nice piece of information to learn, he only goes one way position-wise, which is my reason for looking elsewhere more so than his changing HIV information.

I did not take a snapshot of the older ad, but I make a mental note of those who attract me physically who share their HIV + status, so while I'm not perfect, I'm sure that this was a status change on this guy and not imagination running wild. 

[+ purplekow]

There are rare cases in which an HIV positive patient seroconverts to HIV negative.  These are usually related to stem cell transplants for other conditions.  

[+ 7829V]

Even if they’ve always said they’re negative, I’d still take it with a grain of salt and look out for yourself.

I’ve seen people go from positive to undetectable, then no mention of anything, then back to undetectable, then on PrEP. It can be all over the place.

At the end of the day, I’m on PrEP, doxy PEP, and I use condoms sometimes. I just make sure I’m in charge of my own protection. And I’m the one who decides the level of risky I’m taking 🙂 

[CuriousByNature]

I've never met with anyone myself, but I have seen this in ads too, and it only reinforces the fact that nobody should take what's written in an ad as the gospel truth.  Even if it isn't meant to mislead, a person may not be fully aware of what their status is.  Only you can protect yourself, and this is never something you should blindly trust to anyone else.  

[+ PhileasFogg]

One New Orleans guy did not have status noted on the profile.  When I asked he said “I do everything to be sure I’m regularly tested and healthy”   I now know the coded response for undetectable   

After our first encounter, he told me he was HIV+ Undetectable.  I was not on PreP at the time and, as I researched it, I confirmed that the risk was tiny BUT that should have been MY decision, not his.   He subsequently proved to be dishonest and delusional in other ways too.

As a top, on prep with regular testing, undetectable should be exceptionally safe.  But, one guy in Biloxi advertised + undetectable and then removed it from his ad… it’s bad for business because it’s misunderstood….but disclosure is appropriate. 

[TBD]

you can never fully trust anything about someones status - that is why you must be responsible for your own health and be taking prep or using condoms. 

I have had scares when fucking women who assured me they were on the pill, and I trusted that.  With prep, I like that I do not have to worry about whether my partner is taking it or being honest about their status - all that matters is that I am taking my prep every day.  

 I can understand why some providers are not honest about their status due to miseducation and the massive fear campaign around HIV that we (rightly) grew up with.   Be responsible and use protection when you are with anyone - whether that be condoms or prep. 

[NJF]

There were used to be a good number of providers listed as positive but undetectable. Now only few remain. The trend appears to be non-disclosure and I guess that honesty is bad for business.

[Nue2thegame]

52 minutes ago, NJF said:

There were used to be a good number of providers listed as positive but undetectable. Now only few remain. The trend appears to be non-disclosure and I guess that honesty is bad for business.

Either that or they died off. 

[soloyo215]

On 4/4/2026 at 1:45 AM, viewing ownly said:

Today was the first day I saw this, which I found to be rather alarming. How can one advertise as HIV +, undetectable and on ART, to then listing HIV - with a laundry list of exact dates of all kinds of shots received?

Am I behind the times and it's now possible to no longer be HIV + permanently? I find the man attractive, and his health status, while appreciating (initially) being forward with his status to be a nice piece of information to learn, he only goes one way position-wise, which is my reason for looking elsewhere more so than his changing HIV information.

I did not take a snapshot of the older ad, but I make a mental note of those who attract me physically who share their HIV + status, so while I'm not perfect, I'm sure that this was a status change on this guy and not imagination running wild. 

There have been some people who have been cured, and there have been certain people who have been found to be completely immune to HIV. That said, there's still no mainstream cure for HIV infection and no effective vaccine yet. I actually met a man in 2013, a German American gay man, who got cured by accident. He had leukemia and HIV, went for an experimental treatment for the leukemia, didn't work, but it cured his HIV, but they have no clue how and were unable to reproduce the same effect on others.

My guess is that the provider might have had some bad experiences with a person who might still have the views of HIV from the 80s and 90s when there wasn't any effective treatment and many gay men were dying. I have come across some people who still hold to those beliefs and treat HIV+ gay men as "the lepers among the lepers". Another possibility is that now that with PerP, PreP and other prophylactic treatments, some feel like there is no need to disclose their real HIV status.

My personal policy is that I am the one responsible for my actions and decisions, and I cannot rely solely on the other person to decide whether to use protection or not.

The biggest question to you is how what you read in the profile will influence the level of risk that you are willing to take with a given provider? There's no right or wrong answer to that, but there's accountability and responsibility for the decisions that we make.