Grindr Urged to Prioritize Safety and Privacy Over Profits

• Grindr is being urged to prioritize LGBTQ+ user safety by adopting privacy-by-default settings, moving away from current models that prioritize data-driven profits.
• Current practices involve sharing personal user data with advertisers and using private information for AI training without explicit opt-in consent.
• The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) highlights that for queer users, such data leaks can lead to real-world consequences like discrimination, harassment, or physical violence.

Behavioral Advertising Risks

• Grindr currently requires users to manually opt out of behavioral advertising, a complex process that most users fail to complete.
• Research using TrackerControl revealed that Grindr contacts dozens of third-party tracking domains within minutes, exposing data to an opaque ecosystem of ad-tech intermediaries.
• Even when sharing is limited, the use of mobile advertising identifiers (MAIDs) allows third parties to link user data across various platforms, potentially deanonymizing users and revealing sexual orientation.

AI Training Concerns

• The app automatically enrolls users in AI training on sensitive information, including profile photos, display names, and interaction patterns.
• While Grindr claims it requires opt-in for "special-category" data like chat content, the default enrollment for other metadata persists.
• AI-powered features, such as profile insights, may inadvertently expose private details—like interaction habits—even to users who have not opted into premium AI services.

Recommended Actions

• Replace current opt-out systems with a strict opt-in requirement for all data sharing and AI model training.
• Ensure that privacy is the default configuration, minimizing the collection and distribution of identifiable personal information to third-party brokers.