Grindr

In August 2013, Grindr released an updated version of the app requiring users to verify their accounts by providing a valid email address. Grindr says this was done to reduce spam and improve portability. Critics argued it stripped the app of its anonymity.

On September 30, 2013, Grindr introduced Grindr Tribes, allowing users to identify themselves with a niche group and filter their searches to better find their type. Grindr Tribes include: Bear, Clean-Cut, Daddy, Discreet, Geek, Jock, Leather, Otter, Poz, Rugged, Trans, and Twink. In addition to Tribes, Grindr users could now filter by Looking For.

As of Grindr's fifth anniversary on March 25, 2014, the app was averaging more than 5 million active monthly users worldwide.

After acquisition (2016–2019)

In January 2016, Grindr announced that it had sold a 60% stake in the company for $93 million to a Chinese video game development firm, Kunlun Tech Co Ltd (formerly Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd). In January 2018, Kunlun purchased the remainder of the company for $152 million.

In March 2018, Grindr introduced a new feature that, if opted into, sends the user a reminder every three to six months to get an HIV test.

In August 2018, the Kunlun executive board granted permission for an initial public offering for Grindr. In March 2019, Kunlun started seeking for a buyer of Grindr after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had informed Kunlun that having the app owned by a Chinese company posed a national security risk. This also led Kunlun to halt its plans for an IPO for Grindr.

In July 2019, Grindr released Grindr Unlimited, a new premium version of the app that allows subscribers to unsend messages, go Incognito, see unlimited profiles in the cascade, see who has viewed them, see typing status, and use all the premium features of Grindr XTRA. In November 2019, Grindr launched Grindr Web, a free desktop version of the app built for users who prefer to chat from their computer or laptop. Designed for "quick and discreet" chat while at the office, it employs a generic email interface and mimics computer file folders in place of user profiles. This service has since been made a feature of the paid version, Grindr Unlimited.

Divestiture and public listing (2020–present)

In March 2020, Kunlun announced that it would sell its 98.59% stake in Grindr to U.S.-based San Vicente Acquisition LLC for $608.5 million. Grindr's senior management and core employees would continue to hold 1.41% of the company's shares after the transaction. Towards the end of the same year, Grindr was reported to have about 13 million monthly users.

Grindr announced it will go public via SPAC in May 2022. This came to fruition in November 2022, when Grindr went public on the New York Stock Exchange.

In May 2023, Grindr relaunched Grindr Web limited only to XTRA and Unlimited subscribers. In August 2023, Grindr mandated that all remote workers—including workers that were specifically hired with a "remote worker" designation—relocate to hub cities in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C., providing workers with only two weeks advance notice to comply. By September 2023, 46% of Grindr's 178 workers either quit or were terminated due to non-compliance with the company's return to in-office work policy, in a damaging blow to employee retention. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) protested that the mandate was in response to employees' effort to organize a union, and in response, they filed two lawsuits alleging unfair labor practices with the US National Labor Relations Board.

In 2025, Grindr tested gAI (pronounced gay-eye), with six A.I. features, intended for a premium version of the app.

Original content

Into

In August 2017, Grindr launched its own in-house digital magazine, Into, which focused on queer media and culture. It won journalism awards from the NLGJA and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Into was notable for featuring nonwhite, non-cisgender queer people in its programming, unlike much legacy queer media. Into started the same year as Them, and both were seen as younger, hipper, and more diverse alternatives to older magazines like The Advocate and Out.

Into has been noted for publishing an article in November 2018, criticizing Grindr president Scott Chen for comments he made on marriage equality that have been characterized as homophobic. Two weeks after the article was released, Grindr's head of communications, Landon Rafe Zumwalt, stepped down in protest against Chen's remarks. Into's managing editor, Zach Stafford, left a week later, without commenting on his reasons for leaving. In January 2019, Grindr laid off the editorial staff of Into, citing a desire to "[shift] our focus to video content". The staff disputed this reasoning, claiming the video team had also been dismissed.

Into was revived in May 2021 by LGBTQ digital media company Q.Digital.

Bridesman

In March 2021, it was announced that Grindr was stepping into the "original scripted content space" with a debut web series titled Bridesman. The series, created by John Onieal and directed by Julian Buchanan, went into production the same month and made its world premiere at the Outfest Film Festival on August 14, 2021. The series consists of six episodes and stars Jimmy Fowlie, Sydnee Washington and Shanon DeVido. The show was co-written by John Onieal and Frank Spiro, and produced by Jeremy Truong and Katie White under Truong's company rubbertape.

Who's The Asshole?

In 2024, Grindr launched "Who's The Asshole?", a podcast hosted by drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova. Season 1 guests include Orville Peck, Jordan Firstman, Trace Lysette and Saucy Santana. Season 2 guests include Adam Lambert, Cosmo Lombino, Gottmik, Bowen Yang, Brandon Kyle Goodman and Evan Ross Katz. Season 3 guests include Lisa Rinna, Christian Cowan, Gus Kenworthy, Zachary Zane, Megan Stalter, Joel Kim Booster and Jordy Shulman.

Host or Travel

In 2024, Grindr launched its "Host or Travel" online travel series, which explores gayborhoods around the world.

Locations have included:

Madrid, Spain

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Los Angeles, United States

Playa Zipolite, Mexico

Berlin, Germany

Malta

User data privacy

In April 2018, SINTEF – a Norwegian non-profit research organization – reported that Grindr's data bundles sold to third-party companies could potentially contain some users' sensitive personal information such as HIV/AIDS status and HIV testing dates. The discovery generated widespread scrutiny of Grindr's privacy practices. In response, Grindr released a statement stating "Grindr has never sold, nor will we ever sell, personally identifiable user information – especially information regarding HIV status or last test date – to third parties or advertisers. As an industry standard practice, Grindr does work with highly-regarded [software] vendors to test and optimize our platform. These vendors are under strict contractual terms that provide for the highest level of confidentiality, data security, and user privacy."

On January 14, 2020, a report was published by the Norwegian Consumer Council which alleged that Grindr had violated the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) rules. The council asserted that Grindr sent user data to at least 135 advertisers. The main concerns of the allegations were for sharing personal information, including users' locations and information about their device. These details could potentially indicate the sexual orientation of a user without their consent. After review from the Norwegian Data Protection Authority, it was ruled that Grindr was in violation of the GDPR and fined €10 million.

In October 2020, a security researcher discovered a vulnerability in the password reset process. Anyone was able to take over an account using only the email address.

In April 2024, Grindr was the subject of a lawsuit lodged at the High Court in London for mishandling user data, including the use of "covert tracking technology" and sharing sensitive user data – including HIV status – with third party analytics companies. In September 2026, Grindr agreed to pay £26 million to settle the lawsuit, which had been brought on behalf of 12,000 UK users.

Risk to minors

Research has estimated that around half of sexually active gay and bisexual adolescents use applications like Grindr. Grindr does not verify users' ages in the United States, where it is not required to do so under Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. In countries that require age verification, such as the United Kingdom under the Online Safety Act 2023, users must verify their ages.

Grindr CEO George Arison has argued that age verification should instead be handled by Apple's App Store and Google Play, saying app stores already possess the information needed to confirm users' ages. He said the UK requirements increased compliance costs and led around 7% of the app's UK monthly active users to stop using the service because they were unwilling to provide personal information directly to a dating app. Grindr unsuccessfully lobbied the UK government to adopt an app store-based verification model before the rules came into force.

Labour union complaint

In 2023, the Communications Workers of America (CWA) filed two lawsuits alleging unfair labor practices with the US National Labor Relations Board.

Violent ambushes

The use of fake profiles on Grindr by homophobic predators to entrap and assault LGBTQ people is common in various countries.

In February 2020, Melbourne man Jack Jacobs was lured through Grindr to a meeting near Fitzroy Gardens, where he was assaulted by a group of approximately eight or nine teenagers. Jacobs was hospitalised with facial, wrist and knee injuries; the attackers were never identified. In 2025, Jacobs appeared on the Australian television program The Project to discuss the attack and the broader issue of anti-LGBTQ violence facilitated through dating apps.

A 2023 report by Human Rights Watch documents the widespread use of fake profiles on digital platforms like Grindr, by police to entrap, extort money from, or physically torture LGBTQ people in Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Tunisia.