Grindr will no longer share its users’ HIV statuses after it was uncovered that the app allowed third-party companies to access sensitive data.
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The same-sex dating service recently acknowledged that its users' HIV information, including the date they were last tested for the virus, was provided to Apptimize and Localytics, software vendors paid to test the performance of the site.
A Norwegian nonprofit group called SINTEF made the discovery earlier this week, and also discovered that the two companies were receiving information about users’ location, gender, age and physical type.
Grindr, which has more than 3.5 million users who log on daily, gives users the option to fill out a ton of personal information, including HIV status. However, the site said it restricted the third-party companies from sharing the information, which was always transmitted securely with encryption, unless necessary or appropriate.
The platform initially defended its practices in a statement released on Monday.
“The inclusion of HIV status information within our platform is always regarded carefully with our users' privacy in mind, but like any other mobile app company, we too must operate with industry standard practices to help make sure Grindr continues to improve for our community,” said Scott Chen, Grindr’s chief technology officer.
“We make it clear in our privacy policy that if you chose to include this information in your profile, the information will also become public,” he continued. “As a result, you should carefully consider what information to include in your profile.”
The company later revealed that the HIV data was removed from Apptimize, and it’s in the process of deleting it from Localytics.
Want to learn more? Read the full report at Buzzfeed.
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