Grindr

Hinge and Grindr are two standout dating apps as they continue to grow in a tough market; powerhouses Tinder and Bumble are seeing more users leave their platforms.

In general, dating apps have had a rough couple of years, with the coveted Gen Z market looking to other options besides dating apps to meet singles, including in-person events, running clubs, and social media platforms like LinkedIn.

“Online dating trends have continued to decelerate industry-wide, showing minimal relief from the recent struggles,” wrote Morgan Stanley analysts Nathan Feather and Brian Nowak in their research, according to Quartz.

A majority of dating platforms have signed on to a new dating safety code in Australia, in an effort to crack down on dating app users who violate policies.

According to News.com, dating app users who “harass, threaten, or share unwanted explicit photos” could have their accounts terminated across multiple platforms at the same time, intended to create a safer space overall for online dating. Seventy-five percent of companies operating in Australia have signed on to the new industry standard, including Match Group (which operates Tinder, Hinge and OkCupid among others), Bumble and Grindr.

A recurring problem with dating apps is user safety, specifically surrounding the growing number of users who receive unsolicited images. If a perpetrator is banned from one platform, they can easily move on to other platforms, so the new safety standard is intended to prevent this from happening.

Dating app Grindr was ordered to pay a $5.7 million fine by a Norwegian Court, after the company was found to have violated EU regulations by sharing personal user data with third parties.

The court found that Grindr violated the GDPR by sharing sensitive data with third party advertisers, according to Agence-France Press. Norway’s data protection agency Datatilsynet found that the company had shared information such as geographical location, age, sexual orientation and health information such as HIV status with advertisers.

Grindr was accused of sharing this data between 2018 and 2020.

Image: Grindr

Grindr has launched its new cross-country bus tour “Grindr Rides America” in celebration of Pride month.

“From the Castro to Stonewall, we’ll be getting around—hop on, get off, and get your dicks on Route 66,” Grindr’s cheeky press release reads. “This is all in celebration of YOU as we toast to 15 years and counting.”

Grindr’s bus tour is also in celebration of its fifteenth anniversary, and the company will offer free HIV testing, PrEP resources, and a full-service photography studio to LGBTQ neighborhoods on its route. According to Mashable, a team from medical service Q Care Plus will be along for the ride to discuss HIV and STI prevention with attendees, as well as screening, treatment options, and how to access prep and doxy-PEP to encourage discussion and support without judgment.

Image: Grindr

Grindr has announced it has partnered with Equality in Movement in Georgia and MPOWER in Ireland to connect its users in these countries with at-home HIV testing kits.

According to the company’s blog post, Grindr says it wants to address the global HIV epidemic by making it easier for its users to have access to testing. While many countries have local testing centers, they can still be difficult to access, expensive, and many people still don’t want the stigma of going to a public place to get tested.

Users in Georgia and Ireland will have dedicated buttons on the app’s interface to order at-home self-test kits, any time of day. The app wanted the access to tests to be as simple as Covid tests have become for most folks. The company also wants to encourage more people to test for HIV by alleviating the stigma with in-person tests and allowing them to test in the privacy of their own home.

Grindr’s new Chief Privacy Officer Kelly Peterson Miranda is setting the record straight regarding the app’s privacy policies and use of personal data following allegations and a recent lawsuit.

The interview with The Record Media takes place in the wake of several allegations that Grindr has violated user privacy rights when it comes to their personal data.

The LGBTQ dating app was sued in April for allegedly sharing the HIV status of its users with third parties without their consent. Before that, its former privacy officer Ronald De Jesus has said that the company stored user data, including photos and videos, even after people deleted their accounts, which violated the app’s privacy policy.

And last year, the Electronic Privacy Information Center appealed to the Federal Trade Commission to investigate Grindr for its history of abuses.