VIC

Grindr Is Teeming With Scams

THE LGBTQ+ DATING APP IS GOUGING USERS, SWINDLING THEM OUT OF THOUSANDS, AND GIVING THEM THE RUNAROUND

BY VIC GERAMI

Please note,

Grindr has a skeleton in the closet, but only a few publicly talk about it. It’s a significant problem that’s costing the LGBTQ+ community an immeasurable amount of money and has a class-action lawsuit written all over it. Let’s break down the story.

Grindr Background

Grindr launched in 2009, just nine months after Apple added GPS functionality to the iPhone; it was one of, if not the first, popular location-based dating apps in the world, a full three years before Tinder was launched. Fifteen years on, its core functionality remains essentially unchanged. It allows users to chat with other queer people in their immediate area (with location details down to the number of feet away another user is) and arrange to meet up – often for sex.

Pressures of Going Public

Today, let’s talk about how the growing pressure for more revenue is shaking up the world’s premier gay dating app, Grindr, and irking its users.

Since its initial public offering in 2022, Grindr has been financially rocky. Its stock has since its SPAC. After hitting an IPO-high of $71.51, it currently sits at $10.13. Last summer, announced plans to unionize amid industry layoffs and worries that the company was losing its progressive culture. Two weeks later, CEO George Arrison abruptly ordered his mostly remote workforce of 180 people back to the office. About half the company left, and Grindr paid more than $9 million severance.

Grindr’s push to monetize has prompted some employees to examine how the company calculates the number of paying users on the platform. According to financial statements filed with the SEC, Grindr had about 13.3 million monthly active users in 2023. According to its investor relations page, it has an average of 937,000 paying users a month.

In November, an employee filed a whistleblower complaint with the SEC, arguing that the company was inflating the number of paying users. We contacted the SEC to inquire about the complaint but did not receive a response. When asked, Grindr vehemently denied the allegations.

In the meantime, serious stability issues have plagued the app in recent months. Users will receive the same notification two or three times; bugs require them to force-restart the app to see messages, and sometimes, users’ messages disappear.

Boost is Fraudulent

Grindr recently launched its Boost feature to help sagging revenues. According to the company, for $9.99, ‘Grindr Boost places you near the top of nearby users’ grids for up to an hour, allowing you to attract more attention from accounts still close by but maybe just out of the usual range. Boost also unlocks your ‘Viewed Me’ list for 24 hours, so you can chat with anyone whose eye you caught.’ However, this is not entirely true. Most recently, the company also introduced the Super Boost which, for $14.99, places you at the top of the list for two hours.

Grindr’s Boost feature is highly problematic at best; come calling it a ‘scam.’ The feature boosts your profile to other users nearby, but those people are exhausted quickly, prompting the app to showcase you in farther areas, as far as other states and even other nations, depending on how often you use the feature. Although being visible hundreds or thousands of miles away to people you can’t quickly meet is problematic, that’s not the primary concern. The Boost feature has a significant scheme.

Users attempting to boost their profile can take up to 10 times to work. After an attempt to Boost one’s profile, the app will say, ‘You’re all set. Your purchase was successful.’ However, on the next screen, the app says, ‘Something went wrong. Please contact customer support for more information.’ So, the user has to do the process all over again. Now, the user has to try to Boost again.

There is no way to know how many failed attempts will take until the profile is finally boosted. However, the app charges users for all failed attempts, even when they are malfunctioning. So, you are being charged $9.99 or $14.99 for a Super Boost regardless of whether the Boost worked. The records can indicate that you boosted 3, 5, or even 10 times within a minute, an impossible action, but Grindr will charge you. Even though you can only boost once every hour and every two hours for a Super Boost, they charge you for multiple failed boosts.

A Grindr user who tried the boost feature complained on Reddit, ‘I am so angry! I was charged 3x for Boost! I can’t be bothered to type it out again so just read what I wrote in the refund appeal after it was initially refused: ‘I purchased the Boost feature and received a notification saying there was an error. Immediately after I purchased it a second time assuming it didn’t charge me already (as the features had not unlocked), but the same error message occurred once again. It was only the third attempt at the purchase in which it finally worked, and the premium features were subsequently available. The premium features only last for one hour. The app does not allow you to purchase another ‘Boost’ without waiting for the hour to end. So, three purchases of ‘Boost’ minutes apart is not possible and a fault on Apple/Grindr’s part.’ The invoices show all three purchases occurred ONE minute apart. I don’t know how to make it more clear to them. But they said their decision is final. Is there anything I can do? Is it worth emailing Grindr since they themselves can’t refund me? Honestly, I would be more inclined to let it slide but the disrespect the app has had for its users with its changes over the last few years makes me not want them to get away with it. Any advice highly appreciated!’

The Bounce Around

So, what does Grindr do when you report it to Support? Nothing. They make you go through much hassle, asking you to send screenshots and other materials that are readily available to them, responding to your support tickets within a week or more, then blaming Apple and passing the buck, even though it’s a Grindr defect. If you contact Apple, they send you back to Grindr, claiming that your refund request is not eligible. Some unsuspecting users have been overcharged thousands of dollars and cannot recover their money.

Appearing in Faraway Towns and Cities is Pointless

A Grindr user commented on Reddit about his experience with the boost feature, ‘I assumed it would just put my profile in the ‘fresh’ column where all the people with fresh pics are.’ He continued, ‘Turns out Grindr makes you look like you’re right next to everyone on the grid, resulting in hundreds of messages from people who think you’re like 100 meters from them. It doesn’t change your actual location - you would just see that the person next to you is like 8km away.’ He added, ‘Most awkward hour of my life, do not recommend.’

An Australian tourist visiting New York City had two failed attempts to boost his profile and was charged for them.

Another person posted on Reddit, ‘I was not aware of this feature and I was going crazy seeing guys as far as 8 miles away on my local grid. I uninstalled and installed the app several times, thinking it’s the app. I then wrote to CS and told me about this booster feature. To me this is most annoying and most stupid feature that anyone can come up. Why would I need to be in someone’s local grid knowing that I won’t meet them due to the long distance. The same goes for those who uses this feature, who apparently they only want to be seen and chat, otherwise I don’t understand why use this pointless feature. If I want to meet guys miles away then the booster to see more profile already exist. With this feature I could contact the guy and take it from there. Imposing guys far, far away on my local grid is waste of time, for both parties. And if they really want us to be seen by guys far, far away, and put us in different location, then they should copy Gayromeo’s map feature. On gayromeo you can be anywhere, any country at anytime and whenever you want to.’

Another Grindr user wrote, ‘Yea, this is 100% an issue, and the Grindr team doesn’t take accountability for it at all. Apple isn’t willing to issue refunds for faulty purchases (because Apple says it’s Grindr’s responsibility for having a faulty app) and Grindr says that all refunds are up to Apple. So your money just disappears if this happens, and again, Apple likely will not refund you. Kinda insane, bordering on a scam.’ A Grindr user wrapped it up by saying, ‘Boost is BULLSHIT.’

Grindr users with similar problems can file complaints and get help from the Federal Trade Commission, the CA Attorney General, the Justice Department’s Consumer Protection Branch, and consumer advocacy groups.