grindr

An early TikTok exec just launched a dating app, Spark

A former president at musical.ly (now known as TikTok), Alex Hofmann has already done something that seems impossible: He helped build an app that could compete with social giants like Meta, YouTube o

Grindr’s $7M GDPR fine is a stark warning to adtech not to track

Grindr, a hook-up app for gay, bi, trans and queer people, has been fined around $7.1 million (65 million NOK) by Norway’s data protection authority for passing user data to advertisers without

Tinder will soon make voluntary ID Verification available globally

Tinder announced this morning that in the “coming quarters,” users will be able to verify their ID on the app. This feature was first rolled out in Japan in 2019, where Tinder users must v

Grindr on the hook for €10M over GDPR consent violations

Grindr, a gay, bi, trans and queer hook-up app, is on the hook for a penalty of NOK100,000,000 (aka €10M or ~$12.1M) in Europe. Norway’s data protection agency has announced it’s notifie

A security flaw in Grindr let anyone easily hijack user accounts

Grindr, one of the world’s largest dating and social networking apps for gay, bi, trans, and queer people, has fixed a security vulnerability that allowed anyone to hijack and take control of an

China’s gay dating app Blued eyes Nasdaq IPO to expand overseas

It was around 20 years ago when Baoli Ma hid in his bedroom feeling helpless and lonely for being a gay man in China. Life has changed dramatically for Ma since then. This week, BlueCity, the gay dati

Grindr sold by Chinese owner after US raised national security concerns

Chinese gaming giant Beijing Kunlun has agreed to sell popular gay dating app Grindr for about $608 million, ending a tumultuous four years under Chinese ownership. Reuters reports that the Chinese co

TikTok’s national security scrutiny tightens as US Navy reportedly bans popular social app

TikTok may be the fastest-growing social network in the history of the internet, but it is also quickly becoming the fastest-growing security threat and thorn in the side of U.S. China hawks. The late

From the NBA to Sequoia to TikTok and more, a week of national security concerns with China

It has been a tough week for China-U.S. relations. Vice President Mike Pence ratcheted up the administration’s rhetoric yesterday, calling the NBA “a wholly owned subsidiary of the authoritarian r

CFIUS Cometh: What this obscure agency does and why it matters to your fund or startup

On January 12, 2016, Grindr announced it had sold a 60% controlling stake in the company to Beijing Kunlun Tech, a Chinese gaming firm, valuing the company at $155 million...

Another day, another US company forced to divest of Chinese investors

Foreign investment scrutiny continues to creep into the startup world via a once obscure U.S. government agency that has new tools and a shift in focus that stands to impact young, high-growth compani

Backer of Musical.ly, Grindr and Opera to invest $50M in self-driving startup Pony.ai

A games publisher in China is following the path of its larger peer Tencent to back a wide spectrum of startups for financial gains. Beijing Kunlun Wanwei, or Kunlun, announced in a filing this week t

Crypto 2.0, accessibility, and Apple’s future strategy

From Extra Crunch Jon Evans has a comprehensive look at the most compelling futures for “Crypto 2.0.” With the trading frenzy out of the way (at least for the time being), engineers and product de

Report: Grindr’s Chinese owner Kunlun is selling the dating app after CFIUS raised personal data concerns

Grindr, the popular dating app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, looks like it might be changing hands again, a year after it was acquired at a valuation of $245 million. According to a

Dating apps face questions over age checks after report exposes child abuse

The UK government has said it could legislate to require age verification checks on users of dating apps, following an investigation into underage use of dating apps published by the Sunday Times ye

As Chinese censorship intensifies, gays are back while teenage mothers and tattoos are out

Following the passage of a new cybersecurity law and the removal of term limits from Chinese president Xi Jinping, China’s government is conducting a comprehensive crackdown on online discussions an

Grindr hit with privacy complaint in Europe over sharing user data

The Norwegian Consumer Council has filed a privacy complaint about Grindr, arguing it’s in breach of national and European data protection laws after it emerged the dating app has been sharing 

Grindr sends HIV status to third parties, and some personal data unencrypted

Hot on the heels of last week's security issues, dating app Grindr is under fire again for inappropriate sharing of HIV status with advertisers and inadequate security on other personal data transmiss

Security flaw in Grindr exposed locations to third-party service

Users of Grindr, the popular dating app for gay men, may be broadcasting their location despite having disabled that particular feature. Two security flaws allow for discovery of location data against

China’s Kunlun completes full buyout of Grindr

Nearly two years to the day after its majority investment in Grindr, China-based tech firm Kunlun Group has fully acquired the gay dating app. Grindr is among the, if not the, world’s most popul
Load More