Grindr
Grindr was launched as an iOS mobile app on March 25, 2009, by tech entrepreneur Joel Simkhai in Los Angeles, California.[14] In January 2012, a vulnerability in the app's security software enabled hackers to change the profile picture of a small number of primarily Australian Grindr users to explicit images.[18] Fewer than 15% of entries submitted to the Webby Award committee that year received the Official Honoree distinction, which recognizes the best in Internet content, services, and commerce.[22] In August 2013, Grindr released an updated version of the app requiring users to verify their accounts by providing a valid email address.Grindr Tribes include: Bear, Clean-Cut, Daddy, Discreet, Geek, Jock, Leather, Otter, Poz, Rugged, Trans, and Twink.Designed for "quick and discreet" chat while at the office, it employs a generic email interface and mimics computer file folders in place of user profiles.By September 2023, 46% of Grindr's 178 workers either quit or were terminated due to non-compliance with the company's return to in-office work policy, in a damaging blow to employee retention.[42][43] It has been noted for publishing an article in November 2018, criticizing Grindr president Scott Chen for comments he made on marriage equality that have been characterized as homophobic.[44] In March 2021, it was announced that Grindr was stepping into the "original scripted content space" with a debut web series titled Bridesman.[45] The series, created by John Onieal and directed by Julian Buchanan, went into production the same month and made its world premiere at the Outfest Film Festival on August 14, 2021.[48] Season 2 guests included Adam Lambert, Cosmo Lombino, Gottmik, Bowen Yang, Brandon Kyle Goodman and Evan Ross Katz.In November 2019, it granted a total of $100,000 to organizations and activists providing direct services and advocacy to the LGBTQ communities in the Middle East and North Africa.[62][63] In August 2014, it was reported that Grindr's relative distance measurements could facilitate trilateration, thereby pinpointing individual users' near-exact location.[68] In May 2016, a group of computer scientists from Kyoto University demonstrated how location pinpointing is still possible in the app even when a user is hiding their distance from public display.[69] By exploiting a novel attack model called colluding-trilateration, locating any targeted user becomes a very easy and cheap task without employing any special hacking technique.The attack model works with any location-based service app that shows profiles of nearby users in order of proximity, not just Grindr."[72][73][74] On January 14, 2020, a report was published by the Norwegian Consumer Council which alleged that Grindr had violated the European Union's General Data Privacy Regulation (GDPR) rules.[86] In a July 2015 interview, American actor Rob Lowe was asked if he was concerned that people would confuse his upcoming leading role in the legal comedy television series The Grinder for being on the app Grindr.[91] In the October 23, 2014, episode of American legal thriller television series How to Get Away with Murder, main character Connor (an openly gay intern at a high-profile law firm) uses a gay hookup app called "Humpr" (a sly reference to real-life Grindr) to goad a juror to admit that he is pro-cop in order to get him removed from the jury of a case he is trying.[92] Also in Europe, Grindr has been a pop-cultural reference point: in 2015 on the Danish series Rita, the title character invites her son to speak at her high school about being gay, and in response to a question about how he knows who he can hit on, the 18-year-old says: “Well, you can always [just] give it a try.Connor, the series' openly gay main character, offers a piercing critique of the racism, body shaming, and anti-femme rhetoric prevalent on "Humpr," the show's stand-in for Grindr.[98] In the October 25, 2017 episode of American teen drama television series Riverdale, openly gay main character Kevin is caught cruising for sex in the woods by two of his friends, Betty and Moose.[99] Moose, the school's popular hot jock and closeted bisexual who used to hook up with Kevin, sounds off: "Guys like us, in a town like Riverdale, we don't have a lot of options.[100] The June 30, 2014, episode of American reality court show Judge Judy involved a case between a 47-year-old plaintiff and a 23-year-old defendant who had met through Grindr.[104] In April to August 2018, a recurring storyline on the third season of American reality television series The Real Housewives of Potomac involved a cast member's husband's alleged extramarital affair with a young man on Grindr."[108][109] In the July 2015, American romantic comedy film Trainwreck directed by Judd Apatow and written by Amy Schumer, actor John Cena plays a closeted bisexual character who mentions his use of Grindr when he gets into a verbal altercation with a man in a movie theater.In 2022, Grindr became the sponsor for Travis Shumake, the first ever openly gay man to compete in a National Hot Rod Association drag racing competition.
No Grindr safety measures or government restrictions were taken
Only Grindr safety measures were taken
Government restrictions were enforced (can be bypassed with VPN)
Unavailable due to government bans or US government sanctions
No data
PublicTraded asCommunicationsLos Angeles, CaliforniaJoel SimkhaiWest Hollywood, CaliforniaJames LuChairmanGeorge Arisonlocation-basedsocial networkingonline dating applicationAndroidpremiumGPS positionmobile appQueertyBlackBerrybanner adsVanity FairTechCrunchCrunchiesAbout.comTagged2012 Webby AwardsWebby AwardThe PeopleThe Sunday People2012 Summer Olympicsportabilityvideo game developmentexecutive boardinitial public offeringCommittee on Foreign Investment in the United Statescomputer file foldersNew York Stock Exchangeremote workersCommunications Workers of AmericaUS National Labor Relations Boarddigital magazineOutfestJimmy FowlieSydnee Washingtonpodcastdrag queenKatya ZamolodchikovaOrville PeckJordan FirstmanTrace LysetteSaucy SantanaAdam LambertGottmikBowen YangtravelgayborhoodsMadrid, SpainRio de Janeiro, BrazilLos Angeles, AmericaPlaya Zipolite, MexicoBerlin, Germany2012 U.S. electionsCrimeaPakistanNorth KoreaIndonesiaTurkeyLebanonUnited Arab EmiratesHaaretzethnicitydiscriminatorytrilaterationKyoto Universitylocation-based serviceresearchNorwegian Consumer CouncilNorwegian Data protection AuthorityHigh CourtSection 230Communications Decency ActtechieStephen FryTop GearJeremy ClarksonLondonRob LoweThe GrinderJimmy Kimmel LivebananamusicalGuilty PleasuresSantanaonlineLookingcomedy-dramaopenly gaySan Francisco, Californiacruising for a hookupThe Guardianlegal thrillerHow to Get Away with MurderConnorlaw firmremoved from the jurytryinghookuplegal agedisownedsame-sex relationshipself-destructioncopingteen dramaRiverdalecruising for sexclosetedbisexualLonelinessintimacyaffectionreality court showJudge Judyreality televisionThe Real Housewives of New York CityLuann de LessepsRamona SingerThe Real Housewives of Potomac