Grindr’s chief executive has cautioned users about divulging personal information through the gay dating app, in the wake of a UK political scandal that has heightened concerns over online safety.
“Ultimately, users need to be careful about how they use the product,” George Arison told the Financial Times. “I can do all I can as a business to support them, but ultimately you have got to be discreet — if you need to be discreet — on your own,” he said.
The comments come after the openly gay MP William Wragg admitted revealing the phone numbers of other MPs to a man he met on Grindr. Wragg, who has since quit the ruling Conservative party, became caught up in a so-called honeytrap operation at Westminster after he shared intimate images with the same person. The incident is now the subject of a police investigation.
Arison said one-third of users were “discreet” on the platform, meaning they do not identify themselves. He added that “privacy was paramount” for Grindr as it had to protect the safety of users who may live in countries where being gay is illegal or unaccepted socially.
Meanwhile, a mass data protection lawsuit was filed this week in London’s High Court claiming that Grindr shared private information, including HIV status, with third parties without consent.
Grindr said it planned to “respond vigorously to this claim, which appears to be based on a mischaracterisation of practices from more than four years ago”. It added that it had never monetised or shared health information for commercial purposes.
Arison told the FT that Grindr “actively chooses not to give information about users to our third-party partners”, which has led to fewer advertising dollars as it does not offer fully targeted advertising.
Grindr has several features to protect its users’ anonymity, such as expiring photos, which block users from taking a screenshot, and a privacy option to avoid appearing in the general grid feed of users to interact with.
Arison, who took Grindr’s helm 18 months ago, said the app is developing an “escrow”, which allows it to retain the sender’s photo and only release it when the recipient sends one.
“There are all these features already built up to create more privacy for people, not just for people who are in certain professions, but because a lot of the users need it for their safety,” Arison added.
Shares in the dating app have had a rollercoaster ride since the company’s public listing in November 2022 through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company. Share prices quadrupled on their stock market debut but sank dramatically the following month. The stock has since rallied to more than $10 in the past month, the highest level since the company went public.
Dating apps, including Grindr, often adopt a “freemium” business model, which offers most features to users at no cost but charges for advanced options.
Arison has focused on appeasing investors through measures that include a $359mn debt restructuring. He is keen to increase advertising, which he says accounts for about 15 per cent of revenue.
“There should be more ads on Grindr because if we want to keep a very robust product, we still need to pay for the work,” he said.
Grindr’s monthly active users grew 8 per cent last year to 13mn; however, only 7 per cent are paying subscribers.
“When [more than] 90 per cent of users are not paying subscriptions, it is reasonable to have ads,” he said, adding that Grindr was investing in sales teams to attract more advertisers, and planned to offer more choices over ad placement and format, such as video. However, he will need to reassure brands that he has adequate content moderation and safety protocols in place.
“Most ad agencies don’t know us [and] that is on us,” he said. “So we need a stronger approach to all these places. This is [about] professionalising our organisation a little more as a public company and actively hunting for ad deals,” he added.
Such deals will fund Grindr’s new product offerings including investing in artificial intelligence.
At present, users are shown a grid of other users based on location, which will remain the “core” experience, and no AI is involved. Arison called this feature the “holy grail” that gave users “immediacy and nearness”.
However, the company is exploring an optional algorithmic grid that would match users through AI. It is also considering analysing chat messages, with users’ permission, to assist with matches and improve its “Wingman” chatbot. Wingman, which is due to be released next year, will act as an AI assistant to suggest who to speak to on the app, help draft messages and give recommendations for date ideas.
Arison is keen to attract new users at an accelerated rate, but will nonetheless refrain from “actively trying to target women”, who he believes require a different product offering.
“Grindr is fundamentally still a product for gay and bisexual men,” he said. “That is what we specialise in, and frankly, that is the feature set we have created,” he said.
“Sex is a very big part of gay life — we want relationships, we want networking, but they often start with an undertone of immediacy and intimacy,” he added.
Additional reporting by Elaine Moore