Multiple Faces Detected
June 18th, 2020
Many single men from the LGBT community use Grindr as a way to either hook up with a cute guy, or to go on a date with him and possibly turn him into his significant other. This app has become one of the most popular LGBT dating apps out there for men to meet and chat with each other. However, because of its popularity, it has also become dangerous with its location-sharing feature that lets users know exactly where you are.
How Are Users Able to Track Your Grindr Location?
On Grindr, it tells you in meters how far away your potential match is from you. When you walk to a different location and check the app again, the distance between you and your potential match can increase or decrease depending on where they are. That then tells you that you either need to walk in a different direction or the way you’re going to get to who you want to get to.
You can also use location spoofing apps, such as F*ker or Google maps, to see the precise location of a Grindr user as well.
Why Might This Be Dangerous?
Grindr Location Stalking
If your location is shared within the app, there’s more of a chance that someone will become obsessed with your Grindr profile and will want to stalk you everywhere you go. They can figure out where you live, where you work, and become overly obsessed with your presence.
Harassment
If someone is angry with you for whatever reason and wants to harm you, they can find your location within Grindr. This could lead to physical and verbal abuse if found by the wrong person, and also unwanted sexual contact.
Murders
There have been Grindr members who have been found by people with bad intentions, and have unfortunately been killed in certain situations. These have included drug parties, unwanted sexual contact, physical abuse, and other instances where unfortunately the Grindr member did not survive.
Anti-LGBT Discrimination
There have been people who are against the LGBT community that stalk Grindr members and try to attack them physically and verbally. There have also been workplaces and leasing agencies that have denied someone from the LGBT community due to seeing on Grindr that they were indeed gay. Along with this, there are countries that use Grindr to see where someone is and arrest them due to them being apart of the LGBT community.
Scammers
There are Grindr scammers that contact app members, pretending to be a part of the LGBT community. They get to know you and then use Grindr to track your location and demand you give them money. They can sometimes be physically or verbally abusive until you give them what they want.
Catfish
Someone can go on the app pretending to be someone else, catfishing you as a straight woman or a scammer, then figure out where you are using the location services. They can then follow you around without you knowing it’s them since you think you’re talking to someone else.
Grindr’s Response to Their Location Tracking Services
The president of Grindr, Scott Chen, has argued that its location system is “core to our platform and user experience.”
However, he has also stated, “there are inherent challenges in the use of any app that utilizes or relies upon location information. Additionally, we currently utilize a geohash system, which approximates, rather than ‘pinpoints,’ all location information.” He says that he will continue to make improvements on the app, but did not state how he would do so.
Has Anyone Been Tracked Successfully With Their Grindr Location?
There have been people that have been tracked on Grindr using its location-sharing features. A Reddit user shared his story on how a creepy guy was able to track his exact location and stalk him, even though the user said no, and would see his location get lower and lower as the creepy guy was following him. He blocked him and deleted the app, but then redownloaded the app and made a new account. Even though he blocked the creepy guy’s profile, the guy still managed to find him again with a new profile saying “I’m coming for you.”
How to Avoid Getting Tracked Based on Your Grindr Location
- Make sure your location is turned off on the app.
- Call the cops if you ever feel like you are in an unsafe situation.
- Verify the identity of the user by video chatting with them before meeting them.
If you feel like you’re being followed by a scammer or catfish and feel like they know where you live, Social Catfish is here to help investigate. We can reverse search a name, email address, phone number, Grindr username, or image to see who it is you really been talking to. Safety is our number one priority for our readers, so if you ever feel like you are in an unsafe situation, feel free to call local authorities as soon as you get the results of who really has access to your location.
