Own Your Health: A World AIDS Day Guide to Prevention, Testing, and Care

Every December 1st, World AIDS Day marks both how far we've come and how much remains unfinished. Today, HIV is preventable, treatable, and untransmissible when all tools that work are at your disposal. Yet too many gay, bi, and trans people still can't access them, navigate systems that exclude the most vulnerable, or live openly without fear of stigma or criminalization.

This year, Grindr continues to help our communities close that gap.

Where We Stand in 2025

The science of HIV prevention has never been stronger. Long-acting PrEP options (cabotegravir injections every two months or lenacapavir's twice-yearly injection) are changing what prevention can look like for people whose lives don't fit a daily pill routine. HIV self-testing has expanded globally, offering discreet, stigma-free ways to know your status without stepping into a clinic that might not feel affirming or safe.

And U=U (undetectable equals untransmissible) continues to be one of the most important truths in HIV prevention and care: effective treatment stops transmission and allows people living with HIV to lead full, healthy lives.

But these advances in health and science only matter if access is widespread. If the clinic near you stocks them. If you can afford them. If the provider you see understands your needs. For too many gay, bi, and trans people, scientific progress hasn't translated to real-world access.

That's where Grindr comes in.

Meeting People Where They Are

For millions of users worldwide, Grindr is more than a dating app. It's often the first, safest, or only discreet entry point to sexual health information. Through Grindr for Equality and partnerships with community organizations, we connect users directly to what they need: PrEP navigation, HIV self-testing distribution, affirming mental health support, and legal resources. 

Through thousands of targeted in-app messages and direct referrals each year, we extend the reach of organizations already doing this work, amplifying their impact at scale while centering their expertise.

What Ending HIV Actually Requires

Medical breakthroughs matter, but they're not enough. Ending HIV means building systems where prevention, testing, treatment, and support are genuinely accessible in people's lives, not just theoretically available. It means:

• Equitable rollout of long-acting prevention in every community that needs or demands it.
• Sustained funding for community-led organizations that remain the backbone of HIV prevention and care, especially as political winds shift and budgets shrink.
• Ending HIV criminalization and dismantling stigma that makes disclosure dangerous, pushes people out of care, and treats HIV status as a moral failing rather than a reality to be met with dignity and support.

Take Action this World AIDS Day

Owning your health doesn't mean having everything figured out. It means taking one clear step forward, whatever makes sense for your life today:

• Find your prevention fit. Daily PrEP, on-demand PrEP, injectable options: explore what works for your routine. PrEPWatch offers country-by-country guides to what's available near you.
• Test on your terms. Privacy matters. HIV self-testing gives you control over when, where, and how you learn your status. Find testing options through our global resource directory, including Grindr for Equality’s local partners in several countries (see below).
• Start conversations that matter. Update your profile's HIV, PrEP, and DoxyPEP fields if you feel safe and comfortable doing so. Talk about U=U with dates and partners. Normalize what should never have been stigmatized.
• Connect to support. Find queer-affirming community resources directly in your Grindr app by checking the safety and privacy center in the side drawer. If you need help navigating or understanding HIV-related laws where you live, explore legal info at HIV Justice Network.

Ending HIV is possible. But only if health systems are built with us, for us, and by us.

Additional Resources by Region

Americas: TakeMeHome.org (US) | Vículo Seguro (Mexico) | Red SOMOS (Colombia)

Europe: Test Finder | SH.UK | AIDS.ch (Switzerland) | CESIDA EnviHOS (Spain) | SelfTest.ge (Georgia)

Asia-Pacific: Safe Access & NetReach (India) | SAIL TelePrep (Philippines) | Tram Xác Âu Vọng (Vietnam) | Khmer Test (Cambodia) | HIV Self Test (Australia) | Burnett Foundation (New Zealand)

Africa: Heartland Alliance (Nigeria) | Triangle Project&ANOVA (South Africa)