(Unofficial) Grindr FAQ


Grindr logo
Based on my own experiences as well as topics I see users are searching for when coming across my blog I decided to start an unofficial FAQ for Grindr. I hope it's helpful to some people.


How do I stay safe when on Grindr?
It comes down to this: a degree of mutual trust. You must trust the person you are meeting and the other way round. Still, there are things you can do to protect yourself. 
See my Top Tips for Staying Safe here!

I can't access Grindr and get an error message "Please check your connection settings and try again"

First, check: 
1) are you actually online and connected to the internet? 
2) are you using the latest version of the app? If not, updating it may help. Updating to the newest version seems to fix most issues!

The reason you get this error message is because there has been an error in communication between your Grindr app, and their servers. Sometimes it seems to be caused by the Internet connection you are on blocking Grindr, and sometimes it's a technical issue with the Grindr servers. They seem to have had lots of issues with this lately and have pushed out many updates. Their latest version seems to be good on my Android phone.

Simple test if your Internet provider is blocking:
If you are on data change to an open wifi, if on wifi change to data. Then open Grindr a
nd pull down to refresh the cascade/grid. If that works - no error message - then switch back your connection and try again. If you then get an error message it means your provider is blocking the Grindr app.
Note: One version I had seemed to have an issue where I got an error message - I then turned off wifi and went on data - refreshed grid - then went back to wifi and it worked. This bug seems to now have been fixed.

Screen shot from grindr showing the "Check for updates" option at the bottom
You can check for new versions of the
Grindr app by going to your
profile --> Settings, then tap
"Check for updates"
Usually when you get this message it's because your cell/mobile provider blocks the connection from the Grindr app on your phone to the Grindr servers. Grindr is usually classed as an "adult" service/site and is therefore often blocked by default. Since Grindr is so well known it is usually included in the "adult filter" of a provider. While you may find other apps like Romeo, Hornet etc still work because they are less common and not in the providers adults only list. You can often contact your provider to get them to remove/lift the block for adult sites from your phone. Some providers even allow you to turn off the adult content filter yourself from their self-service website.
It may also be that you are using an old version of the Grindr app. Older versions had a lot of issues connecting to the Grindr servers; most of which now seem to be fixed. Therefore, try updating to the very newest version.

In the background the app connects to multiple endpoints on different ports (see reverse engineered API here). Providers will block in different ways, some may block all traffic to *.grindr.com and others may allow *.grindr.com but disallow *.grindr.mobi which is used by the app only.


What happens when you block someone on Grindr?
  • The chat and chat history in your inbox disappears for you and the blocked user
  • The blocked user disappears in the grid for you and the blocked user
  • You can no longer contact or view the blocked user
  • The blocked user disappears from your favorites (if you had made them a favorite)
What happens when you unblock someone on Grindr?
  • The blocked user becomes visible again and the blocked user will see your profile in the grid (it takes a few minutes until the user shows up again in the grid)
  • The chat history is lost. Any chats you had with the blocked user are deleted when you block them and not recovered when you unblock.
What happens if someone blocks me?
Screenshot from Grindr showing the error mesage "This profile is not available" when you try and view a profile that has been blocked from you
  • You will no longer see the users profile in the grid
  • The chat disappears from your inbox
  • If you are messaging from your inbox and the user blocks you, you will get an error message saying the profile is not available
  • The only indication that you have been blocked is that the users profile is no longer visible/accessible from your profile, and if you go into your inbox you will also see that the chat with that user has now disappeared

Does deleting the Grindr app also take me off it?
No! Just deleting the app on your phone will not remove your profile from Grindr. Your profile is stored in the Grindr systems and not on your phone. You have to remove your profile from the Grindr app. To remove your profile see here.

Can you use Grindr offline?
No - you have to have a live connection to the internet to use Grindr.

What does it mean when it says a user is "offline"?
This means the user has not opened/used the app for the past 12 hours. 

I lost all my chats on Grindr. Why?
You probably deleted the app from your phone. This will delete your chat history. To keep your chat history, set your Grindr to periodically back up your chats to the cloud. Then, when you re-install the app you can get all your chats back from the cloud backup.

Do I have to be 18 to use Grindr?
Yes. If you are under 18 your profile will likely be deleted pretty quickly. This is to protect both you, and other users.

A guy lied about his age on the app and he was under 18. What do I do?
You can report him through the app. His profile will then be deactivated and the email address associated with the account banned.

Before you report - and maybe also block him - you should think about what you said to him and if you sent nudes of yourself. In some countries sending a nude to someone under 18 is not legal, even though being gay is. My advice:

1) Delete any photos from him
2) If he explicitly said he was 18 when you asked, screenshot that part of the conversation and keep safe
3) If he approached you rather than the other way round, screen shot that part as well
4) Screen shot his profile, stating he is 18

In some countries you could carry on with the conversation with someone who is under 18 but you are entering a legal minefield and it's at your own peril. The rule of thumb is that as long as they are over the age of consent in your country and homosexuality is legal you are probably alright as far as the law is concerned. However, there are more things to consider - for example he could at any point in time "expose" you or threaten to go public or tell your family or employer. Not a nice position to be in. Also if you are in a position of authority such as a teacher, politician, high profile businessman - you may still get into legal trouble since in many countries abusing your position of trust/authority with someone under 18 would still be a criminal offense.

I discovered my husband/partner/boyfriend is on Grindr - what do I do?
Ouch. Opinions differ on this one. Should you just keep quiet and observe, or confront him? You should ask yourself this question: Why is he on there in the first place? Perhaps it is best to confront him. Or just observe for a while? Make a fake profile, chat him up and see what he says? The options are many and I don't think there is a right answer. 

There could be a number of reasons for someone to use Grindr and they may not always be what you think. For example, there are guys who are purely looking for transgender women and are "not interested in guys". Then there are "men who have sex with men"; men who are curious about having sex with another man but do not seem themselves as gay - and some are clearly not but enjoy the pure raw sexual relations between two men but do not have any romantic relations or feelings. Therefore, it is easy to jump to conclusions. The only conclusion you can make is that he is seeking something different from what he gets from you. Dr Joe Kort has an excellent TikTok page on Men who have Sex with Men. 

Leave a comment below to say what you think is best to do in this situation!

Also: If your boyfriend/partner/husband is on Grindr it's likely he has had sex with other people. You don't know if they had protected sex or not. For your own sake, get yourself tested. Now.

Is Grindr popular everywhere?
Actually, no. In some countries you will find there are hardly any users at all. To check, use the "Explore" function to check out guys in other areas and countries. Note Explore may show no users when in fact there are many. Example: Do an explore search for Kigali, Rwanda - no users found. Then use fake GPS and set your fake location to Kigali - and presto you will see many users. So, Explore search is not always a reliable indicator.

Can you fake your location on Grindr?
On Android, yes. It is almost impossible to do on iOS (iPhone) but very easy on Android. It is unclear if Grindr have some sort of mechanism that automatically catches people who do. If you want to explore guys far away from you, tap the Explore "rocket" icon top right. 

Grindr displays users in a grid or "cascade", with the closest to you on the top left. Even if you do not show your distance to other users its still pretty easy to figure out how close a user is by looking at the users next to them in the grid. Be careful. 

Can someone find out where I am if I am on Grindr?
Not precisely but they can get pretty close. They may be able to narrow down your location to a small "quadrant" on the map and it's surprisingly easy to do. For example, that you are likely to be inside a large mall. Grindr has been criticized for not doing enough to hide user locations. You can turn off showing your distance to other users - go to Settings and select "Show My Distance".

How much of my personal information is shared with others?
On the app its up to you how much to share with other users. My advice: 
- Do not share your HIV status
- Do not link to Twitter or Instagram (especially if those display your real name!)
- Turn off "Show me in Explore searches" and "Show my distance". 

What does the green dot next to the user mean?
It simply signifies that the user is online and active. Note that users may still be on their phone, and receive a notification when you send a message. Once they have not been active on the app for a while they will drop off the grid.

Can you see if someone has read my message?
Not unless you pay for a subscription to Xtra or Unlimited.

Can I see who blocked me?
Nope. Sorry. There is no way.

Is Grindr just for gay people?
Users on Grindr are mostly men who are looking to meet other men. Grindr allows you to specify your "gender identity" such as man, cis man, trans man, trans woman, crossdresser etc. on your profile. However you can't filter for these so you can't specifically look for a specific gender you will have to check out each users profile - but mostly it's clear from the users profile pic! 

Can my Grindr profile be seen anywhere on the internet after I delete it?
Your profile is not deleted just because you delete the app. You must actively delete your profile from within the app, then delete it from your phone. Grindr profiles aren't indexed by search engines like web pages are so no one will be able to search for your profile and find it after it's been deleted. The only way to look for profiles is on the app itself and if your profile has been deleted, well it's gone forever. Keep in mind though that someone may have screenshotted your profile or taken a screenshot of any photos you sent and you can't protect yourself against that. These screen shots may be circulating on the internet. Always send expiring photos!

When I tap "Explore" and look at users outside of my area, do I appear in the regions I am exploring?
No, you will not appear in the grid of users in whatever location you have selected.

Also see the official Grindr Help Center

Do you have other questions? Leave a comment below!

Comments

  1. "Check your connection settings and try again" has kept me from connecting to Grindr ON MY MAIN CELLPHONE for over a month. They don't really know what's wrong. Today I logged in on a tablet and an old cellphone no issue. AND I can get onto Grindr Web although it is painfully ugly and terribly stark looking. It looks absolutely nothing like the app. Grinder Web is practically unusable. All this is on the same internet WiFi connection, so that's not it. Its got to be something in my phone but what the hell could it be? I've uninstalled and reinstalled the app several times, forced stopped it, restarted the phone, cleared data from Google Play Services, and even tried old Grindr versions from apk repositories. I'm at a loss. I've never had major Grindr connection problems like this before, except it always came disconnected a minute or two many times a day. Over the years I discovered most people did not have this disconnect issue like I did. I have no idea if that's related.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I should say I can get onto Grindr Web on my main phone, the one the app does not work on any longer. BTW it is a moto g 5 plus

    ReplyDelete
  3. why are all the people I block not disappearing? They still show on my grid as previously booked..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They should definitely disappear the moment someone blocks you or you block them. When you block someone your grid should refresh straight away and your blocked user should simply disappear from your grid.

      Delete
  4. Thanks for the comments, guys. There seems to be a lot of confusion about blocking and what happens when you block or unblock so I will add some things about that. Also I will try and add a few more steps for how you can do a more scientific and conclusive test of not being able to connect from your Grindr app back to their servers.

    ReplyDelete
  5. If I get blocked by someone but I've backed up their messages on Android phone (not on google drive), will I be able to restore those messages?
    What's a sure way to know if you've been blocked by someone you have messages and images from and who's in your favourites or if that person has deleted their profile?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I tested this just now: You are right if you restore chat from a backup on your phone this restores the messages from the user who blocked you! I was able to see all the msgs from the user who blocked me. I could even send a message but it will not be received by the user who blocked.

      I think the only way to really find out if the profile no longer exists is to check with a different account. If the user is still showing in the grid then you know the profile exists but they have blocked your other account.

      Delete
  6. I blocked a user. Hours later user was not available in the to be unblocked users. Just this user. The rest of blocked users, they were in the unblocking list. Do you know why?.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Could it be that the user you blocked also blocked you? So you have a double block going on. I think it's more likely though that the other user deleted their account or was banned. I believe in both cases the user will disappear from your unblock list.

      Delete
  7. Hello, not sure if my message sent from phone so am re-sending on pc. Thanks for your blog. You stated above that, if you block a user and then unblock them, then all chat history between the two users is lost and unrecoverable.

    Do you happen to know if, after you have blocked and unblocked a user, does Grindr store the chat history of the two users or archive it in any way, even if the chat history is deleted from the users'perspective?

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Well I am wondering why you are so keen for no one to find your chat history! I think for any app with a chat function like Grindr you should assume the chat history is stored for a period of time - either as part of government regulation for that country (for lawful intercept etc.) or simply company policy.

      The Grindr Terms of Service actually states "GRINDR RESERVES THE RIGHT, BUT HAS NO OBLIGATION, TO MONITOR ANY USER’S USE OF THE GRINDR SERVICES, INCLUDING A USER’S REGISTRATION OR MESSAGING," so it seems they can review your message history at their discretion.

      How long data is collected for on the systems Grindr use is detailed in their Data Retention Policy: https://www.grindr.com/privacy-policy/data-retention/?lang=en-US
      "Messages are retained on servers for delivery purposes and then purged no later than 48 hours after delivery. Delivery is attempted for up to 30 days."
      Interestingly, images are kept for longer: "Deidentified images are expunged 120 days from last send date by a user."
      In their Privacy and Cookie policy they state that they will in general only keep technical metadata about each user for historical purposes. However they also state " In some circumstances, Grindr may also retain chat messages used for reporting violative behavior resulting in an account’s ban."

      One thing I guess I should look into is exactly what data is stored on your local device. It may be that message history is simply hidden by the app when you block someone or get blocked but the data is still on each others devices - hopefully encrypted.

      From what I can tell you can also make a request to Grindr to make them delete your data (all data not just messages), through their customer support.

      Delete
  8. Edit to my comment of 19 May above: I forgot to mention that I have not, nor have I ever, selected the chat backup option offered by Grindr. Look forward to hearing from you whenever you get a chance.


    Hello, not sure if my message sent from phone so am re-sending on pc. Thanks for your blog. You stated above that, if you block a user and then unblock them, then all chat history between the two users is lost and unrecoverable.

    Do you happen to know if, after you have blocked and unblocked a user, does Grindr store the chat history of the two users or archive it in any way, even if the chat history is deleted from the users'perspective?

    ReplyDelete
  9. If you unblock someone on Grindr are they notified in anyway?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, rather unceremoniously there is no active notification on either side.
      You will simply see the user again in your grid. The other user will also see you in their grid.

      Delete
  10. If you delete your Grindr account does it delete you from people you've been chatting to - would they still have your address if you gave it in the chat presuming they didn't note it down elsewhere or enter it into their GPS?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The only way they would have your address is if they did a screenshot on their phone. Annoyingly Grindr doesn't tell you if someone screen shots your profile or chat, unlike Snapchat. Either way - please do not give out your address. Provide an address nearby, somewhere public, meet him there.

      If you delete your account (which is NOT done by just deleting the app from your phone) then your profile *and* all the chats is no longer available for other users. They won't be able to access a deleted profile or your chat messages. However, they could have screenshotted so for that reason - be careful.

      Delete
  11. I find no notification on being blocked, profile and chats just gone, coward by the app. On Blued and Gayromeo you get a message saying you have been blocked, which is honest.

    One thing I don't like about Grindr: when I delete a chat from my inverse chronological list of chats, it's gone from the profile as well. I delete a chat because I have no interest in that profile. But if I see this profile again later, or the user messages me, the information from the chat is lost and everything starts again (your picture in profile? looking for?). Much better in Blued, when I delete a chat in the inverse chronological list, I can still access it via the profile.

    ReplyDelete
  12. there are a few people whom I have repeatedly blocked, and they show up a day or two later as a 'new member.' what are they doing to, effectively, become 'unblocked?'

    ReplyDelete
  13. I use an iPhone and a tablet to access Grindr. I’ll be talking to the same guy on both simultaneously, and the messages don’t appear on the other device. How can I merge the two devices?

    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
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    ReplyDelete
  16. Sometimes my replies "fail to send". I have to go out of app and back, and retry. Very annoying

    ReplyDelete

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