Do you think that dating apps need to do more to protect their users?
With the news that a man is suing Grindr after fake profiles claiming to be him led to 700 men turning up expecting sex, it’s renewed thoughts that I have had for some time about the dating app failing in its duty to protect users and adhere to some kind of social responsibility.
Now, I must be upfront at this point and be honest about the fact that I have used Grindr in the past. I’ve experienced the good and the ugly side of it, from meeting up with guys who genuinely made me fear for my safety to meeting the man I have been in a relationship with for the last five years. On one hand, Grindr has revolutionised the way that gay and bi men meet each other. There is no longer a need to go to a club to meet people or venture to a cruising ground with all the risks that presents. Being able to open an app, see who is around and talk to people from the comfort of your home is a very convenient way of going about hooking up with someone.
However, on the other hand I can’t help feeling that the existence of Grindr has done more harm than good. Crimes relating to Grindr and Tinder have increased seven-fold over the last two years in the UK. I am personally aware of men who have been victims of crimes having met other guys on Grindr who were not who they claimed to be, and have also ended up in disturbing situations myself on more than one occasion.
I suppose you could say that it’s my own fault if I have ended up in risky situations. As an adult, surely I should have been aware of the risks of meeting people from a dating app. I think that I probably was aware deep down, but at the time I was also quite vulnerable. Many users of Grindr are.
In my role as Chair of Warwickshire Pride, I’m responsible for the Proud Youth project that the charity runs. Twice a week, young LGBT+ people can attend a drop-in to relax, be themselves, meet new people and receive advice and support from a team of dedicated volunteer youth workers if they need it. Last year, two of the people who attend the drop-ins needed support due to issues stemming from using Grindr. At the time, both young people were underage. At 15 years old, they were using Grindr regularly and meeting up with older men for sex. Obviously this presented some grave concerns as not only were these young people putting themselves at risk; there were also older men who were meeting up with them and not knowing that they were underage.
After some supportive and educational discussions with the young people, who began to understand the situations that they were putting themselves in, I decided to contact Grindr to inform them that underage people were using their app and enquire about what measures they have in place to stop under 18s using it. I was disappointed to discover that anyone can set up an account on Grindr and they don’t do any checks on their users to ensure they are of a legal age.
Grindr did initially reply to my report of underage users on the app and requested that I supply them with the details. I was unable to do that via the app as I no longer use Grindr, but I did provide them with the profile details and email addresses of the underage people. Shockingly, no action appeared to be taken and I received no response about how Grindr could protect their users by ensuring everyone who uses the app is over 18.
With Grindr related crime on the rise and an increasing amount of underage people using the app, surely it’s time Grindr stepped up their social responsibility to protect members. It shouldn’t be so easy for underage people to set up a profile and be able to use the app. It’s putting young people at risk and setting up older users for a fall when they discover that the person they are meeting is not being truthful about their age. A simple age check cannot be difficult to implement.
I also feel that Grindr need to provide safety warnings to their users upon logging in. Many members will be vulnerable and others perhaps don’t think about the risks. Something so simple could go a long way to protecting people. So, Grindr, will you step up?