Grindr

The dating app world has once again been hit with a privacy scandal. DC-based developer Trevor Faden revealed a sweeping security flaw in Grindr’s code, a glitch he says has the potential to expose sensitive information of more than 3 million daily users.

According to Faden, Grindr attaches a list of restricted profiles to each user’s account to prevent the app from displaying a profile after the user has blocked them. The list would normally remain invisible, but a loophole makes it possible to retrieve the list from Grindr’s code, thereby granting someone access to the names of every account that has blocked them.

Faden launched a website tool called C*ckBlocked that allowed users to retrieve their blocked lists by entering their Grindr username and password. Nearly 50,000 signed up, and once they did so, Faden was able to gain access to a cache of other personal information that is not publicly available on Grindr profiles, including unread messages, email addresses, deleted photos, and location data -- even for users who opted out of making their location public.

Dating apps happily boast about their sign-up rates or the number of marriages they’ve created, but they’re understandably reluctant to release less flattering figures. How many users actually stick with an app once they’ve created a profile? How many let their account lapse, or delete the app altogether? Which apps are most quickly abandoned?

In pursuit of more juicy data, mobile data company Ogury sampled more than six million mobile user profiles from its network to take a deep dive into usage habits around the world. They focused on users in the US, UK, France, Italy, and Spain who had used dating apps within the six months between January and June 2017. To present the most balanced findings, they were were careful to maintain an identical male to female ratio in each region.

Ogury’s results reveal a landscape that may surprise online dating’s biggest advocates. One chart in the report shows that dating app longevity leaves something to be desired, with most app uninstalls occuring within the first day of usage. Zoosk users, at 44.1%, are most likely to uninstall in less than 24 hours, followed by Grindr at 33.6% and Tinder at 32.9%.

After purchasing a majority stake in Grindr last year, ​​​​​​a Chinese gaming company has acquired the rest of the popular dating app for gay men. The acquisition means a major payday for the company, but China experts and former intelligence officials fear it could spell privacy problems for users.

Kunlun Group purchased 60 percent of Grindr in January 2016 for $93 million. The Chinese firm has now acquired the remaining stake for $152 million, according to stock filings, which some believe puts the Chinese government in a position to demand sensitive data on the app’s users, including those who are not Chinese citizens.

Kunlun Group initially indicated that Grindr founder Joel Simkhai would stay on as CEO, but following the completion of the deal, Simkhai has left the company with no explanation for his departure.

Following similar moves by OkCupid and Tinder, Grindr has unveiled new options for users who identify as transgender and gender non-conforming. Options for gender now include "cis man," "trans man," "non-binary," "non-conforming," "queer," and "crossdresser." Users can also specify a custom identity if theirs doesn’t appear on the list.

The changes coincide with the end of this year’s Transgender Awareness Week, and are the result of a survey of current trans users, as well as a consultation with the National Center for Transgender Equality.

Along with the expanded options for gender identity, the app and website have been updated to include gender neutral terms, and users can now choose from pronouns such as "he/him/his", "she/her/hers" and "they/them/theirs." Users whose preferred pronouns are not listed may write in their own.

It’s been a whirlwind week in the online dating world.

First, Badoo launched a feature to help singles hook up with their celebrity crushes… well, almost. A new search feature uses facial recognition technology to match users with dates who look like their favourite celebs. Among the most searched-for famous faces so far are Kim Kardashian West, Justin Bieber, and Robert Pattinson.

“People are looking for quick, fast, easy ways to start connections,” said Badoo's Miles Norris to the BBC, “and if the way someone looks is a good onboarding to that, then we want to make it easy for them.”

After purchasing 62 percent of the gay dating app Grindr last year for $88 million, Beijing Kunlun Tech is shelling out another $152 million to buy the remaining percentage. The Chinese tech company is now the sole owner of Grindr, which reaches 27 million users in nearly 200 countries.

Unlike Taiwan, which recently legalized same-sex marriage, China affords few legal rights to LGBT citizens. Nevertheless, companies like Kunlun are beginning to realize the enormous potential of LGBT customers. Kunlun hopes to expand Grindr’s reach throughout Asia and take on China’s homegrown gay dating app, Blued.

“It is of strategic importance for us to fully engage in the daily operations of Grindr and make it our development milestone,” Kunlun said in a statement. “[With the deal], we also aim to be a world leading social media company in the future, and to expand our platforms into film, streaming and animation.”