FRANCE24 – Gay dating app Grindr has disappeared from multiple app stores in China as authorities tighten control of the country's already heavily policed internet. Although China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, same-sex marriage is illegal and LGBTQ issues remain taboo. Local Grindr competitors such as Blued remain available for download.
Category: Grindr
Can Grindr Become More Than “Just a Hookup App”?
MIC – Grindr was first introduced to the queer community in 2009 by a gay tech entrepreneur named Joel Simkhai, whose original intentions were to connect queer people with similar interests. Simkhai recognized that people would view Grindr as nothing more than a hookup app, but he had much higher hopes for it from the start. But the app's "only-for-hookups" stigma has stuck around and Grindr has been trying to shake it off ever since. It apparently didn't help when Simkhai sold the app to a Chinese Kunlun Tech in 2016. The new president, Scott Chen, viewed Grindr as a hookup app and simply focused on increasing the number of daily users rather than trying to improve it. One former employee said that for Chen, "anything that detracted from encouraging hookups was seen as a distraction." In March of 2020, Grindr was sold once again, this time to San Vicente Acquisition. The company has since pivoted back toward what Chen tried to move away from – including the relaunch of their digital publication, "INTO". Grindr users tapped into the app's unofficial housing market during the pandemic. Some people also use Grindr to further their careers.
Sextortion Plaguing LGBTQ+ Dating Apps
AARP – Instead of seeking companionship on dating apps geared to the LBGTQ+ community, scammers are extorting others for cash or compromising photos. The fraud, called sextortion, has led the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to issue a warning after complaints from users of sites such as Grindr, Feeld and other dating apps. Typically, the offender poses as a potential partner on an LGBTQ+ dating app, sends their own explicit photos and asks for some in return. The scammer then threatens to share the images and conversation with the victim's friends, family or employer unless the target sends money, usually via a gift card.
Norway Fines Grindr $7.16M Over Privacy Breach
ASSOCIATED PRESS – Norway's data privacy watchdog fined gay dating app Grindr $7.16M for sending sensitive personal data to hundreds of potential advertising partners without users' consent. In 2020, Norway's Consumer Council filed a complaint against Grindr for disclosing information about its users, including GPS locations, IP addresses, ages, gender and their use of the app, to several third parties for marketing purposes. That allowed users to be identified and third parties to potentially share personal information further.
Digital Rights Nonprofit Alleges Grindr Violated User Privacy Laws
JURIST.ORG – The European Center for Digital Rights (Noyb) has filed a complaint against Grindr, alleging that the dating app violated the EU's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). New users must confirm their identity. Grindr requires these users "to hold up a piece of paper with their email address, as well as their passport – all while balancing their phone to take a selfie." Noyb asserts that this additional requirement "is violation of the GDPR." Last year Grindr faced similar allegations when the Norwegian Consumer Council (NCC) accused Grindr of violating the GDPR after an NCC research report found that Grindr shared location and device information with other companies.
by Heidi Johnson
See full article at Jurist.org
How Do the Best Dating Algorithms Work?
MASHABLE – Tinder: The Tinder algorithm used to be based on the Elo rating system, which was originally designed to rank chess players. The "Elo score" gauges how other profiles interacted with yours. It logged your swipes. Elo is no longer used. Now, the most important thing a user can do is…use the app. The more data Tinder has on you, the more Tinder knows your preferences and the algorithm is based on how your profile is Liked or Noped.
Hinge: The dating app "designed to be deleted" doesn't have swiping. Hinge uses the Gale-Shapley algorithm. This Nobel-prize winning algorithm was created to find optimal pairs in "trades" that money can't buy – like organ donations. Say there are 10 women and 10 men. How do they get paired up? Well, tell one group (either the men or women) to pick their first choice, and if they get rejected they move on to their second choice. Continue until none of the people left want to get matched anymore. Tell the app when you've met a match in person and Hinge understands who you're interested in.
OkCupid: OkCupid has 4k questions. There's 60 sexual orientation and gender options. OkCupid calculates a match percentage. If another user has similar search preferences and responses to questions as you, and is looking for the same things relationship-wise, you'll have a high match percentage.
Bumble: Bumble is similar to Tinder in that it uses a swipe model. Bumble declined to comment about its search algorithm.
Grindr: Grindr only uses algorithms for security purposes, like detecting spam accounts. There's no recommendation algorithm to speak of on Grindr today.
by Anna Iovine
See full article at Mashable
Mark Brooks: Frankly, I'm surprised at the lack of substance here. Our job is to bring clarity to a complex problem. Who to date? Who to marry? Who to raise a family with? (…and perhaps guide people further on how not to screw it up). This is not an unsolvable problem, but it is highly nuanced. Culture, religion, values, and lifestyle preferences compound the problem. Also, what people say they want and what they are willing to accept can be quite different. i.e. stated preferences vs revealed preferences. Observing people's behaviors and getting feedback after each date is key. Also, we really need to know when we have been successful. When we have clear visibility on this, at scale, then AI becomes useful for helping us solve for long-term compatibility.
See the top news on Tinder See the top news on OkCupid
See the top news on Bumble See the top news on Grindr
See the top news on Hinge
Gay Dating Apps Join Health Experts to Fight Hate Speech and Racism
PRESS RELEASE – Building Healthy Online Communities, a consortium of HIV and STD prevention organizations, has released a report with the results of its "NiceAF" campaign's research to combat online hate speech and racism. The report contains recommendations for apps and sites to take, based on input from ~5.5K users. BHOC worked with Adam4Adam, Daddyhunt, dudesnude, Grindr, GROWLr, Jack'd, Manhunt, SCRUFF, and POZ Personals to recruit its users to share their ideas. BHOC asked users to suggest and then rate a number of steps that apps should take to reduce discrimination and hate speech. The full report is available at NiceAF.org.
FTC Warns of Extortionists Targeting LGBTQ+ Community on Dating Apps
BLEEPING COMPUTER – The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warns of scammers targeting the LGBTQ+ community via apps such as Grindr and Feeld. Fraudsters pose as potential romantic partners on LGBTQ+ dating apps, sending explicit photos and asking their targets to reciprocate. Victims are blackmailed to pay a ransom, usually in gift cards, under the threat of leaking the imagery. To make threats more credible scammers will state the names of exactly who they plan to contact (found online by using a phone number or social media profile) if victims don't pay up. The FTC advises LGBTQ+ dating apps users to avoid sharing explicit photos. Online dating platforms including Grindr and Feeld have also warned their users.
This warning comes after a similar one issued by the FBI Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) who has seen a massive increase in sextortion complaints since January 2021, leading to financial losses of over $8 million until the end of July. It received 16k+ sextortion complaints thru July 31, almost half of them from victims age 20-39. Victims should contact law enforcement, and file a complaint with the FBI IC3 immediately at www.ic3.gov.
New Privacy Features for Grindr Users
Banned and Blocked: LGBT+ Websites Censored From Russia to Indonesia
THOMSON REUTERS FOUNDATION – Sep 1 – The Russian LGBT Network has been able to challenge shutdowns in court. 32 different LGBT+ websites were blocked at least once on Russian internet providers between mid-2016 and mid-2020. Same-sex relations in Russia are legal, but attitudes about sexuality and gender identity remain conservative. In a 2020 referendum, voters backed an amendment to the constitution to allow marriage only between a man and a woman, closing the door on same-sex weddings.
Website bans violate Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), of which Indonesia, Iran and Russia are signatories. The multilateral treaty says "everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression … (including) freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers".
Iran blocked the highest number of website addresses linked to LGBT+ content. 75 unique LGBTIQ URLs were detected as blocked in Iran, followed by the UAE with 51 unique LGBTIQ URLs were found to be blocked. Five years ago, Indonesia's government said it would move to ban LGBT+ sites, and at least 38 LGBT+ websites are currently blocked. Grindr is banned in Indonesia, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the UAE.
by Hugo Greenhalgh
See full article at Thomson Reuters Foundation News