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Location-based app for gay, bi, trans and queer people · Grindr Inc. (NYSE: GRND) · Last checked November 2026

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Good for: Volume. The most gay and bi men near you, for dates, hookups or just a chat.

Skip it if: Your location or HIV status being shared, ever, is a risk you can't take: read our privacy guide first.

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Grindr home page, blurred because it shows explicit images
Grindr's home page, November 2026 (our screenshot; blurred because the page shows explicit images).

Grindr is the default. With roughly 1.4 million paying users and close to 16 million monthly users worldwide, it is the app most likely to have someone within walking distance, whether you're in a big city or a small town where nothing else has enough men on it to be worth opening. The free grid is usable; XTRA and Unlimited mostly buy more profiles, no ads, and the ability to see who viewed you.

The trade-off is its record. Researchers caught Grindr sending HIV status to two app-testing companies in 2018, Norway's data regulator fined it NOK 65 million for sharing user data with ad partners without valid consent (upheld by the appeal court in October 2025), and in September 2026 it agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK claim over pre-2020 data practices, without admitting liability. Grindr says its privacy program has been overhauled since 2020. You don't have to take anyone's word for it: leave HIV status blank if you'd rather not store it, turn off distance, and keep your face out of the first photo if being seen on the app is a risk for you.

Grindr is also the app most often used to set up robberies and assaults, simply because it is the biggest. Video-chat before you meet, meet somewhere public the first time, and read our guide to robbery setups and scams and how to meet safely.

A city at night seen from above, streets and towers lit in many colours
Photo by Earl McKenzie on Unsplash

Is Grindr safe?

Grindr is safe enough for most men if you set it up carefully: hide your distance, keep HIV status blank unless you are comfortable with it being stored, and video-call before meeting. Its privacy record is the worst of the big gay apps, and it is the app most often used for robbery setups because it is the biggest. Our Grindr privacy guide covers the settings.

The facts

Cost
Free with ads and a limited grid. The US App Store lists XTRA at $14.99 to $22.99 and Unlimited at $27.99 to $44.99 depending on term, plus a $9.99 Unlimited day pass and $11.99 boosts. Grindr launched a $120-a-month "Edge" tier in November 2026.[1]
Who uses it
Grindr reported about 1.4 million average paying users in Q3 2026, up 11% year on year, and describes itself as having nearly 16 million monthly active users worldwide. It is by far the biggest app in this comparison.[2][3]
Verification & safety tools
Grindr introduced mandatory age verification for UK users in July 2025 to comply with the Online Safety Act. We found no general photo- or ID-verification badge like Tinder's or Bumble's. Its community guidelines ban transphobia, deadnaming, fetishizing and harassment.[4][5]
Privacy record
In 2018 researchers found Grindr sent users' HIV status to two app-testing firms (Grindr stopped). Norway fined it NOK 65 million for sharing user data with ad partners without valid consent, upheld on appeal in October 2025. In September 2026 Grindr agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK claim over pre-2020 data sharing, without admitting liability. Researchers have repeatedly shown that distance data can reveal a user's location.[6][7][8][9]
Bots, fakes & regulators
We found no regulator finding of fake profiles run by Grindr. Criminals and, in some countries, police have used fake Grindr profiles to lure men to robberies, assaults and arrests, as Australian police and Human Rights Watch have documented.[10][11]

Sources

  1. Grindr on the US App Store (in-app purchases)
  2. Grindr Inc. Q3 2026 shareholder letter (SEC 8-K, Nov 2026)
  3. Global Dating Insights: Grindr Q3 2026 results
  4. MambaOnline: Grindr introduces mandatory age verification in the UK (Aug 2025)
  5. Grindr Community Guidelines
  6. TechCrunch: Grindr sends HIV status to third parties, and some personal data unencrypted (Apr 2018)
  7. Norwegian Consumer Council: Grindr loses appeal (Oct 2025)
  8. The Guardian: Grindr pays £26m to settle UK lawsuit over allegedly sharing users' HIV status (Sep 2026)
  9. Wired: Grindr promises privacy, still leaks exact location (May 2016)
  10. ABC News (Australia): Criminals using fake profiles on LGBTQI dating apps to lure robbery victims (May 2025)
  11. Human Rights Watch: "All This Terror Because of a Photo" (Feb 2023)

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