Grindr Enhances Privacy Protections for LGBTQ Athletes at Paris Olympics

Grindr has implemented enhanced privacy measures for LGBTQ athletes at the Olympic Village in Paris, following concerns about safety and potential outing. Earlier this week, users reported that the app's location-based features, including the "explore" function, were disabled. Grindr confirmed this decision, mirroring similar actions taken during the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. The app's blog post emphasized the risks faced by athletes who may not be openly LGBTQ or come from countries where same-sex relations are criminalized. The company highlighted that at least 67 countries have laws against same-sex relations, making it crucial to protect users from being outed. With the disabling of location services, Grindr users in the Olympic Village will not have access to features like "roam" or "show distance," although they can choose to share their approximate distance. Grindr aims to facilitate connections among athletes while minimizing the risk of exposure. In addition to disabling certain features, Grindr has introduced several safety enhancements. Users can now send unlimited disappearing messages, unsend messages, and disable private videos. The app will also provide targeted safety resources, including reminders about potential dangers and links to multilingual safety information. The decision to enhance privacy comes in light of past incidents where Grindr was used to out athletes, notably during the 2016 Rio Olympics. A controversial article by the Daily Beast, which initially revealed identifying information about athletes, faced significant backlash and was ultimately retracted, underscoring the importance of safeguarding user privacy in sensitive environments.