The Kindr campaign attempts to stymie the racism, misogyny, ageism and body-shaming that many users endure on the app. They responded this fall to the threat of a class-action lawsuit - one alleging that Grindr has failed to meaningfully address racism on its app - with “Kindr,” an anti-discrimination campaign that skeptical onlookers describe as little more than damage control.
This has put Grindr’s public relations team on the defensive.
Sniffles gay chat about software#
Then in the spring, Grindr faced scrutiny after reports indicated that the app had a security issue that could expose users’ precise locations and that the company had shared sensitive data on its users’ HIV status with external software vendors. Early this year, the Kunlun Group’s buyout of Grindr raised alarm among intelligence experts that the Chinese government might be able to gain access to the Grindr profiles of American users. Instead, the Los Angeles-based company has received backlash for one blunder after another. Flush with cash from its January acquisition by a Chinese gaming company, Grindr’s executives indicated they were setting their sights on shedding the hookup app reputation and repositioning as a more welcoming platform. “These controversies definitely make it so we use dramatically less,” Smith says.īy all accounts, 2018 should have been a record year for the leading gay dating app, which touts some 27 million users.
And after a year of multiple scandals for Grindr - from a data privacy firestorm to the rumblings of a class-action lawsuit - Smith says he’s had enough. But they log in sparingly these days, preferring other apps such as Scruff and Jack’d that seem more welcoming to men of color. They created the account together, intending to connect with other queer people in their small Midwestern city of Appleton, Wis. Smith, who’s 32, shares a profile with his partner. Lately, he’s questioning whether it’s worth keeping Grindr on his own phone. border to the racial dynamics in BDSM pornography. An assistant professor of ethnic studies at Lawrence University, Smith’s research frequently explores race, gender and sexuality in digital queer spaces - ranging from the experiences of gay dating app users along the southern U.S. Jesús Gregorio Smith spends more time thinking about Grindr, the gay social media app, than most of its 3.8 million daily users.