Grindr disables location features in Olympic Village to protect LGBTQ+ athletes

Popular LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr has disabled location-based features for users within the Olympic Village of the Paris Games, which kicked off today. 

The measures are not designed to stop athletes hooking up between sprints, swims, or shot puts — they’re a safety precaution. 

“If an athlete is not out or comes from a country where being LGBTQ+ is dangerous or illegal, using Grindr can put them at risk of being outed by curious individuals who may try to identify and expose them on the app,” said Grindr.

Grindr has disabled features like “Roam” or “Explore,” which allow users to search for and view profiles in a specific location. The “show distance” feature will also be turned off by default, but users can share their approximate distance if they decide to turn it on.

Grindr has also rolled out a number of other “targeted safety measures.”  These include deactivating screenshots for profile images and chats, and disabling the sending of private videos.

Users within the Olympic Village will also be able to send unlimited disappearing messages and unsend messages after they’re sent. This is usually a premium feature. 

A recurring issue

Grindr said that the measures, which were also rolled-out during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, ensure LGBTQ+ athletes can “connect with each other authentically” without worrying about “prying eyes or unwanted attention.” 

Grindr’s ramped up privacy measures stem from the 2016 Rio Olympics, after straight Daily Beast reporter Nico Hines used the app to out LGBTQ+ athletes at the Olympic Village. The publisher later removed Hines’ article, but the original version provided potentially identifying information about some of the athletes.

In another case, TikTok users at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics posted videos with the names and pictures of Olympians’ Grindr profiles, Business Insider reported.

It is a criminal offence to engage in same-sex sexual activity in 63 jurisdictions, according to the Human Dignity Trust. In some countries, it is a crime punishable by death.