Jul 26
Grindr Blocking Location Services at Paris Olympics to Protect Athletes
Emell Adolphus READ TIME: 1 MIN.
Grindr is taking precautions to protect athletes at the Paris Olympics.
The gay dating app has reportedly disabled some of its location-sharing features, specifically its "explore" feature, which would allow users to change their location and look at profiles in the Olympic Village.
The move is reportedly in response to a previous 2016 incident in which a straight journalist used the app to solicit dates with athletes and wrote about them for a story.
The IOC called the article "simply unacceptable" in a statement to OutSports at the time.
For athletes from countries with strict anti-LGBTQ+ laws, using the app "can put them at risk of being outed by curious individuals who may try to identify and expose them," the company explained in a blog post. However, the app can still be used by the roughly 155 LGBTQ+ athletes participating in the Olympic Games.
What's more, Grinder said the only ads that users of the app in the Olympic village will see are "advertisements from Grindr for Equality promoting health & safety resources." They added, "You won't see third-party advertisements – only Grindr for Equality public service announcements to help keep users informed and safe."
Grindr has also shut the distance feature on the app to "off" by default for users in the Olympic Village area to "help athletes connect without worrying about unintentionally revealing their whereabouts or being recognized."
Read the company's full blog post.
