The story
Founded by Joel Simkhai on Mar 25, 2009.1
History
Original ownership (2009–2015)
Grindr was launched as an iOS mobile app on March 25, 2009, by tech entrepreneur Joel Simkhai in Los Angeles, California. The free version displayed 100 profiles of nearby men, while a premium version ($2.99 plus a monthly fee) contained no advertising and broadened the dating pool to 200 men. Cautious but generally positive reviews of the app circulated through the gay blogosphere on sites such as Queerty and Joe My God. By August 2009, there were 200,000 total users in Grindr's network. By March 2010, there were 500,000.
For its first anniversary on March 25, 2010, Grindr released the app for BlackBerry devices.
In January 2011, Grindr won the iDate Award for Best Mobile Dating App.
On March 7, 2011, Grindr launched the app for Android devices. Along with a free version, users could pay $4.97 for a premium version called Grindr XTRA that featured no banner ads, more profiles to choose from, more "favorites," and push notifications of messages received while the app is running in the background.
In January 2012, a vulnerability in the app's security software enabled hackers to change the profile picture of a small number of primarily Australian Grindr users to explicit images. Grindr subsequently commenced legal action and made software changes that blocked the site responsible.
In January 2012, Grindr won TechCrunch's Crunchies Award for Best Location Application and two iDate Awards for Best Mobile Dating App and Best New Technology. In April 2012, Grindr won the About.com Readers' Choice Award for Best Dating App, after 74 percent of readers chose Grindr over Zoosk, SKOUT, Tagged, Tingle, and Are You Interested. In May 2012, the 2012 Webby Awards named Grindr an Official Honoree in its "Social (Handheld Devices)" category. Fewer than 15% of entries submitted to the Webby Award committee that year received the Official Honoree distinction, which recognizes the best in Internet content, services, and commerce.
On June 18, 2012, Grindr announced that it had officially hit 4 million registered users in 192 countries across the globe.
On July 22, 2012, after Grindr experienced a technical outage, British tabloid The People (now The Sunday People) reported that Grindr's crash was due to the volume of usage upon the arrival of Olympic athletes in London for the 2012 Summer Olympics looking for hook-ups. The report caused rumors to circulate regarding the athletes' potentially scandalous sexual behavior. Grindr quashed the rumors the next day and blamed the outage on technical issues not related to server demand.
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In August 2013, Grindr released an updated version of the app requiring users to verify their accounts by providing a valid email address. Grindr says this was done to reduce spam and improve portability. Critics argued it stripped the app of its anonymity.
On September 30, 2013, Grindr introduced Grindr Tribes, allowing users to identify themselves with a niche group and filter their searches to better find their type. Grindr Tribes include: Bear, Clean-Cut, Daddy, Discreet, Geek, Jock, Leather, Otter, Poz, Rugged, Trans, and Twink. In addition to Tribes, Grindr users could now filter by Looking For.
As of Grindr's fifth anniversary on March 25, 2014, the app was averaging more than 5 million active monthly users worldwide.
After acquisition (2016–2019)
In January 2016, Grindr announced that it had sold a 60% stake in the company for $93 million to a Chinese video game development firm, Kunlun Tech Co Ltd (formerly Beijing Kunlun Tech Co Ltd). In January 2018, Kunlun purchased the remainder of the company for $152 million.
In March 2018, Grindr introduced a new feature that, if opted into, sends the user a reminder every three to six months to get an HIV test.
In August 2018, the Kunlun executive board granted permission for an initial public offering for Grindr. In March 2019, Kunlun started seeking for a buyer of Grindr after the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) had informed Kunlun that having the app owned by a Chinese company posed a national security risk. This also led Kunlun to halt its plans for an IPO for Grindr.
In July 2019, Grindr released Grindr Unlimited, a new premium version of the app that allows subscribers to unsend messages, go Incognito, see unlimited profiles in the cascade, see who has viewed them, see typing status, and use all the premium features of Grindr XTRA. In November 2019, Grindr launched Grindr Web, a free desktop version of the app built for users who prefer to chat from their computer or laptop. Designed for "quick and discreet" chat while at the office, it employs a generic email interface and mimics computer file folders in place of user profiles. This service has since been made a feature of the paid version, Grindr Unlimited.
Divestiture and public listing (2020–present)
In March 2020, Kunlun announced that it would sell its 98.59% stake in Grindr to U.S.-based San Vicente Acquisition LLC for $608.5 million. Grindr's senior management and core employees would continue to hold 1.41% of the company's shares after the transaction. Towards the end of the same year, Grindr was reported to have about 13 million monthly users.
Grindr announced it will go public via SPAC in May 2022. This came to fruition in November 2022, when Grindr went public on the New York Stock Exchange.
In May 2023, Grindr relaunched Grindr Web limited only to XTRA and Unlimited subscribers. In August 2023, Grindr mandated that all remote workers—including workers that were specifically hired with a "remote worker" designation—relocate to hub cities in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C., providing workers with only two weeks advance notice to comply. By September 2023, 46% of Grindr's 178 workers either quit or were terminated due to non-compliance with the company's return to in-office work policy, in a damaging blow to employee retention. The Communications Workers of America (CWA) protested that the mandate was in response to employees' effort to organize a union, and in response, they filed two lawsuits alleging unfair labor practices with the US National Labor Relations Board.
In 2025, Grindr tested gAI (pronounced gay-eye), with six A.I. features, intended for a premium version of the app.
Original content
Into
In August 2017, Grindr launched its own in-house digital magazine, Into, which focused on queer media and culture. It won journalism awards from the NLGJA and Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund. Into was notable for featuring nonwhite, non-cisgender queer people in its programming, unlike much legacy queer media. Into started the same year as Them, and both were seen as younger, hipper, and more diverse alternatives to older magazines like The Advocate and Out.
Into has been noted for publishing an article in November 2018, criticizing Grindr president Scott Chen for comments he made on marriage equality that have been characterized as homophobic. Two weeks after the article was released, Grindr's head of communications, Landon Rafe Zumwalt, stepped down in protest against Chen's remarks. Into's managing editor, Zach Stafford, left a week later, without commenting on his reasons for leaving. In January 2019, Grindr laid off the editorial staff of Into, citing a desire to "[shift] our focus to video content". The staff disputed this reasoning, claiming the video team had also been dismissed.
Into was revived in May 2021 by LGBTQ digital media company Q.Digital.
Bridesman
In March 2021, it was announced that Grindr was stepping into the "original scripted content space" with a debut web series titled Bridesman. The series, created by John Onieal and directed by Julian Buchanan, went into production the same month and made its world premiere at the Outfest Film Festival on August 14, 2021. The series consists of six episodes and stars Jimmy Fowlie, Sydnee Washington and Shanon DeVido. The show was co-written by John Onieal and Frank Spiro, and produced by Jeremy Truong and Katie White under Truong's company rubbertape.
Who's The Asshole?
In 2024, Grindr launched "Who's The Asshole?", a podcast hosted by drag queen Katya Zamolodchikova. Season 1 guests include Orville Peck, Jordan Firstman, Trace Lysette and Saucy Santana. Season 2 guests include Adam Lambert, Cosmo Lombino, Gottmik, Bowen Yang, Brandon Kyle Goodman and Evan Ross Katz. Season 3 guests include Lisa Rinna, Christian Cowan, Gus Kenworthy, Zachary Zane, Megan Stalter, Joel Kim Booster and Jordy Shulman.
Host or Travel
In 2024, Grindr launched its "Host or Travel" online travel series, which explores gayborhoods around the world.
Locations have included:
Madrid, Spain
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Los Angeles, United States
Playa Zipolite, Mexico
Berlin, Germany
Malta
From Wikipedia’s article on Grindr, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7