It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March , and has since become the largest and most popular gay mobile app in the world. As of September , Grindr has approximately The app allows users to create a personal profile and use their GPS position to place them on a cascade, where they can browse other profiles sorted by distance and be viewed by nearby and faraway users depending on one's filter settings.
Selecting a profile photo in the grid view will display that user's full profile and photos, as well as the option to chat, send a "tap," send pictures, video call, and share one's precise location. For its first anniversary on March 25, , Grindr released the app for BlackBerry devices. On March 7, , Grindr launched the app for Android devices.
In January , 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. On June 18, , Grindr announced that it had officially hit 4 million registered users in countries across the globe.
On July 22, , 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 Summer Olympics looking for hook-ups. Grindr quashed the rumors the next day and blamed the outage on technical issues not related to server demand. In August , 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, , Grindr introduced Grindr Tribes, allowing users to identify themselves with a niche group and filter their searches to better find their type. In addition to Tribes, Grindr users could now filter by Looking For. As of Grindr's fifth anniversary on March 25, , the app was averaging more than 5 million active monthly users worldwide.
