Grindr scorched for handling of HIV data

GAY dating app Grindr was under fire on Monday for sharing information about users’ HIV status or locations with two companies enlisted to optimise its software.

Grindr chief technology officer Scott Chen said in a Tumblr post that sharing data with partners such as Apptimize and Localytics was “industry practice” and that steps were taken to protect people’s privacy.

“As a company that serves the LGBTQ community, we understand the sensitivities around HIV status disclosure,” Chen said. “Our goal is and always has been to support the health and safety of our users worldwide.”

Grindr users have the option of sharing their HIV status and when they were tested. Researchers worried that including the health information with other data such as location and email address could result in people being identified.

Online rights champion Electric Frontier Foundation called Grindr’s response “disappointing”.

Grindr said it uses Apptimize and Localytics to test and validate its platform, and that data it shares could include users’ HIV status or location fields.

Sensitive data are encrypted when sent, and vendors are under strict contractual terms to keep it secure and confidential, according to Chen.

Norwegian nonprofit research group SINTEF uncovered the data sharing, and concern spread in the US after Buzzfeed reported the findings.

“Grindr has never, nor will we ever sell personally identifiable user information – especially information regarding HIV status or last test date – to third parties or advertisers,” Chen said.