Grindr

Popular dating apps including Tinder, OkCupid, Happn, and Grindr have come under fire from consumer rights groups and privacy coalitions for sharing personal data of their users with third parties, specifically advertisers.

A study was published this month from the Norwegian Consumer Council that showed 10 apps were collecting sensitive information including a user’s exact location from GPS tracking, sexual orientation, religious and political beliefs, drug use and other information and sharing it with at least 135 different third party companies, according to several reports. Some of those businesses included household names like Google and Facebook, but also lesser-known adtech companies such as OpenX, MoPub, and AppNexus. The study only looked at apps on Android phones, according to NPR.

This type of data collection and sharing violates the European Union’s rules to protect user data online under the General Data Protection Regulation.

Grindr G4E Homepage

In an effort to protect users around the world, Grindr has announced new safety features and unveiled a ‘Holistic Security Guide’ in six languages. These releases are designed to help queer users navigate dating in countries where a culture of homophobia, biophobia and transphobia puts them at risk.

Scott Chen, President of Grindr, said in a statement, “As Grindr has grown to become a vital part of the gay, bi, trans, and queer community, we feel a responsibility to provide important information and evolving tools to facilitate our users’ safe dating experience. Our work in improving the well-being for the LGBTQ community around the globe is far from finished, but we are proud of these additional features to help provide a safer platform for our users.”

Gay dating app Grindr is headed towards an IPO again, now that the U.S. national security panel CFIUS has dropped its opposition.

Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech purchased Grindr fully in 2018, but the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. found this problematic and forced Beijing Kunlun to sell the app by June 2020. According to a report from CNBC, a source familiar with the situation said the efforts to sell Grindr by the deadline were continuing, even as plans for the IPO were moving forward.

Grindr is turning up the heat for summer with new features and an upgraded premium membership. The new subscription tier, dubbed Grindr Unlimited, will cost users $49.99 per month or $300 up front for a full-year membership.

Grindr Unlimited is being billed as “the most convenient and discreet Grindr experience ever.” In a statement, a spokesperson for Grindr said: “When it comes to your Grinding, every minute counts, and you can’t afford to waste time – or have your clients see you in the grid during dessert.”

Grindr Unlimited comes with all the benefits of Grindr Xtra, the platform’s original premium membership, plus five exclusive perks:

Lebanon’s Telecommunications Ministry has blocked access to Grindr on the country’s state-owned internet service provider, sparking concern amongst activists, allies and human rights organizations.

The local Daily Star newspaper was the first outlet to report on the ban. The Telecommunications Ministry reportedly sent a memo to Lebanese internet service providers ordering them to block the app. Within several days, users found they could not access Grindr over the state-run ISP Ogero. Amnesty International obtained confirmation from an official source at the ministry that a ban had indeed been put into effect.

Beijing Kunlun Tech, a Chinese company which owns the popular dating app Grindr, will now be forced to sell it by June 2020, according to a report by CNN.

Beijing Kunlun Tech owns 60% of Grindr, a popular dating app in the LGBTQ community. Last year the company was planning to take the app public but was stopped when the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (CFIUS) intervened. The U.S. government agency oversees purchases of businesses by foreign entities and expressed concern that the national security of the U.S. would be threatened by the acquisition of the dating app by a Chinese tech company, because of the sensitive user information it had access to.