AXIOS – June 9 – Grindr is adding a new benefit for its LGBTQ+ employees through the concierge service Included Health. More than 1 in 10 LGBTQ+ Americans polled by American Progress last summer said they were mistreated by a doctor or health care provider. Many said they stopped seeking treatment at all after facing discrimination. Included Health, founded in 2019, was acquired by Grand Rounds Health and Doctor On Demand in May, and is one of a handful of startups trying to address health care barriers experienced by transgender people.
Category: Grindr
Grindr Partners With 2021 Global Black Pride Event – “What About Us”
BUSINESSWIRE – June 4 – As part of its ongoing efforts to support the Black LGBTQI community, Grindr has partnered with Global Black Pride, Global Black Gay Men Connect (GBGMC), and Black LGBTQI community-based organizations across the globe to bring the second edition of Global Black Pride. This year, the event's theme will be "What About Us" and will be primarily virtual on June 18th, 2021 at 11:00am – 8:00pm EST on Grindr's YouTube Channel. Founded in 2020, Global Black Pride has become the single largest Black LGBTQI gathering across the globe.
Do Dating Companies Delete Users’ Data?
AVAST BLOG – June 3 – Match Group says that they don't share users' information between sites unless they ask them to, but they also say in their privacy policy that they might share that info for "limited and critical purposes, including for corporate audit, analysis and consolidated reporting, to comply with applicable law, and help keep our users safe." According to the Bumble Privacy Policy, they don't "sell" user data, according to the legal definition of "sell," but they do share demographic data and location with third party advertisers. They also share non-personal data with third parties for "research and analysis." So what happens to all that data when users leave? Unfortunately, the answer isn't so clear, especially for Match Group. But if someone deletes Grindr account, Grindr expunges everything they have about them after seven days. Spark Networks – the owner of Jdate and ChristianMingle – is based in Germany, which means they're subject to the GDPR. They are legally obligated to delete it. Bumble promises to delete users' data starting 28 days after they deactivate it. They say that they retain any information they might need for legal purposes.
See full article at Security Boulevard
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Grindr Sponsors French Second-Tier Rugby Club
BLOOMBERG – May 28 – Players at French rugby club Biarritz Olympique will carry the name and logo of Grindr on their shirts in a rare sponsorship deal that kicks in next season. The club will receive ~$1.2M a year under the deal.
Police Say Gay Men Targeted for Robbery Using Grindr
OUT – May 6 – Police in Atlanta issued a warning about one and possibly up to three men using Grindr to lure gay men to a remote location where they are robbed. In the last four months at least eight gay men have been robbed, sometimes violently, after the conclusion of a first date with a man they met on Grindr.
Q.Digital Relaunches LGBTQ+ Into
DIGIDAY – May 4 – Q.Digital, publisher of digital media brands like Queerty and Gay Cities, has relaunched Into, the publication launched by Grindr which shuttered it in January 2019. The new owner says Into will fill a gap in the LGBTQ+ media market by speaking to both the Gen Z and BIPOC community. Q.Digital acquired Into in December 2020 for an undisclosed amount. Grindr had previously shut down Into after a 17-month run, following controversial comments made by Grindr president Scott Chen about same-sex marriage, which led to a few employees stepping down in protest.
Is It Worth Paying a Premium to Find Love?
THE GUARDIAN – Apr 25 – Tinder has three levels of subscription, Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold and Tinder Platinum, each with different prices. The monthly fee is also linked to age. Users aged ~30 are being charged £27.49 or £29.49, while those under 30 are being charged £13.99 or £14.49. Tinder Plus seemed more random. Some users over 30 are being charged £19.49, most are being asked to pay £4.99, £8.99 or £9.99. Bumble charges £14.99 a month for Bumble Boost, and £32.99 for Bumble Premium. Coffee Meets Bagel charges £34 a month for its Premium service. Grindr also offers a more expensive package – Unlimited, at £31.99 a month. While most apps allow users to pay for premium services for just a month at a time, Plenty of Fish has a minimum premium subscription of three months for £39.99. The minimum time period to subscribe to eharmony's premium subscription is six months for £99.99. The dating and relationships coach Kate Mansfield argues that the most dateable people will be snapped up before they sign up for a paid-for service. Quality, confident people don't need to pay for matchmaking services. Instead of a paid-for app, she advises working on yourself: "Invest in coaching or therapy to get yourself in the best place possible and then use apps' free version to find love."
by Robert Beck
See full article at The Guardian
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Grindr to Produce Original Comedy Special ‘Gag Reflex’
YAHOO FINANCE – Apr 1 – Grindr will produce a livestream comedy special, called "Gag Reflex," featuring rising queer comedians. The special will launch April 1, airing on YouTube and on the Grindr platform, which in March touted 5M daily active users. The special follows the announcement of Grindr's first original series, "Bridesmen." Created by John Onieal, the series will consist of shorts following a gay man who attempts to undermine his best friend's wedding.
by Matt Donnelly
See full article at Yahoo Finance
Grindr’s US Security Review Disclosures Contradicted Statements Made to Others
REUTERS – Mar 29 – When Grindr's Chinese owner sold the app to an investor consortium last year to comply with a U.S. national security panel order, the parties to the deal gave information to authorities that contradicted disclosures to potential investors and Chinese regulators. They told the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) that James Lu, a Chinese-American businessman who is now Grindr's chairman, had no previous business relationship with a key adviser to the seller, a man named Ding'an Fei. Fei, a former private equity executive, was acting as an adviser to Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd, Grindr's owner at the time, on the deal, the documents show. The duo had also done business together in other ventures. This could lead to civil penalties and criminal charges under the false statement provisions of the U.S. penal code.
Grindr Must Delete Improperly Collected Data, Norway Watchdog Says
REUTERS – Mar 17 – Norway should force the Grindr dating app to erase illegally gathered data, on top of a recent threat to impose a large fine. Norway's Data Protection Authority said it planned to fine the LGBTQ+ app 100M Norwegian crowns ($11.8M) for what the regulator said was illegal disclosure of user data to advertising firms. In January, following news of the fine, Grindr said the allegations against it dated back to 2018 and no longer reflected its current privacy policy or practices, and that the company was following the law.