Upcoming Changes to Grindr's Privacy Policy: What You Need to Know

At Grindr, we're constantly exploring ways to improve your experience and expand the Global Gayborhood in Your Pocket^TM. In doing so, we know that privacy is uniquely important to our community. Unfortunately, in many places around the world, sometimes even in the U.S., the consequences of coming (and being) out can still be serious. So we take a privacy-forward approach to our work. Today, we're excited to share some upcoming changes to our privacy policy that will lay the groundwork for innovative features designed to make your Grindr experience even better.

What's Coming Soon

Transparency first

Our Privacy Program is guided by three core principles: transparency, user control, and data minimization. We update our Privacy Policy regularly, and each time we make updates we strive to make it clear and informative, though we realize this can mean more reading. Since 2021, we have organized the Privacy Policy in a layered manner so that you can navigate to the section that is most important to you.

We're rolling out the product and policy changes described below thoughtfully, step by step, to ensure we're getting it right. And we're providing advance notice explanations of the choices you have in personalizing your Grindr experience.

Nearby connections and more 

Since Grindr’s inception, users have found great value in the app's location-based interface. We also know that how people make connections has changed since our start in 2009. While proximity remains a core element of the Grindr experience, we know some users are interested in connecting with people who have similar interests, even if they're not the closest geographically. We also know that some might like advice on how to craft an intro message beyond ‘Sup’. So we're excited to announce a brand new section to our Privacy Policy called "Our Connection Algorithms." This new section explains how your data can be used to better connect you with people, chatbots, services, and experiences through Grindr by further personalizing the Grindr experience, providing AI features tailored to individual interests (e.g., profile recommendations and a personal chatbot), and continually improving these features for the Grindr community. We’re excited to offer a more personalized experience through AI-powered features, but we understand it’s important for you to choose what’s right for you. Soon you’ll see an in-app pop-up where you can give explicit consent for Grindr to use certain data¹ that privacy laws define as sensitive for AI development – before this data can be used. You’ll also have in-app control over whether even your non-sensitive data, e.g., city-level location, can be used for AI development. 

More relevant ads

We know that more than 90% of our users enjoy the free version of our app. If you prefer an experience without third-party ads, you can always upgrade to a subscription. With a subscription, you can browse and message other users with no third-party ads interrupting your pursuit of a new connection, and no Personal Information is shared with advertising partners because no third-party ads are served.  

Making a free tier of Grindr available is important to us, and we’re able to do so because advertising revenue subsidizes some of the costs of providing this service. For ad-supported accounts, we currently share very limited information with advertisers (no Personal Information beyond IP address and an advertising identifier – with consent), but we recognize that this sometimes results in ads that may not be relevant to you. 

If you choose to receive personalized ads, we’d like to provide ads that are relevant to you while respecting your privacy. Therefore, if you choose personalized ads, the manner in which Personal Information is shared will be done in a privacy-preserving way. For example, we will allow advertisers to reach Grindr users based on general categories. This could involve sharing non-sensitive profile details like your general location (think city-level, not your exact location) or interests you’ve tagged in your profile (like your love for Sunday brunch), but only with your consent. Finally, Grindr does not share any information about your vaccination, testing, or HIV status with third-party advertisers. No vaccination status. No testing reminders. No HIV status. 

It's important to emphasize that sharing certain Personal Information for ads remains entirely optional—you’re in full control of whether you receive personalized ads and therefore what data is shared with advertising partners. As always, you can accept or decline to receive potentially more relevant ads via the Consent Preference Center within the app. For more information, please check out this help center article. 

Data retention and more

In this update, we have made efforts to address some commonly asked questions. For example, we include that all accounts with no log-ins for the past two (2) years are considered “inactive,” and are deleted from our systems in line with our Privacy Policy. We have also updated how European users can contact our EEA and UK representatives. And we are transitioning our Consent Management Platform, which lets you manage personalized ad choices, to a new provider– Ketch. 

Your Privacy, Our Priority

We understand that privacy is of paramount importance to our users given our community’s unique needs, and we recognize that Grindr is a special space for our community. Privacy is also at the heart of what makes our space inviting, comfortable, and fun. We are committed, now and always, to being transparent, keeping you informed, and earning– and maintaining– your trust. 

We know you might have questions, and we are here to help. We have worked hard to create a policy that gives you the information you need to make informed choices, and this blog is intended to explain the most important changes in clear, easy-to-understand terms. If you still have questions, feel free to contact us directly at [email protected]. 

¹ The in-app consent allows you to choose whether limited, optional profile fields (ethnicity, pronouns, gender, looking for, tribe, tags, and position); chat message content; and precise location can be used to help build AI features. You remain in control of what you include in your profile. 

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