Well, this is rather alarming.
Apparently, Grindr has been exposing the exact locations of its users for years. Not only that, but developers have reportedly known about the glitch for a while now, but they haven’t done anything to fix it.
Related: Grindr has been secretly sharing your HIV status with other companies
The discovery was made last week by the blog Queer Europe with the help of a third-party app called app called F*ckr, which found a way to to hack into Grindr’s private API and use a technique called trilateration to pinpoint users’ preciselocations.
How about we take this to the next level?
Our newsletter is like a refreshing cocktail (or mocktail) of LGBTQ+ entertainment and pop culture, served up with a side of eye-candy.
Here’s a terrifying video of just how easy it is:
Applications designed to locate Grindr users are publicly available online, and give anyone access to a virtual map on which you can travel from city to city, and from country to country, while seeing the exact location of cruising men that share their distance online. pic.twitter.com/0IumD6laAE
— Queer Europe ???? (@QueerEurope) September 13, 2018
The Inquirer reports:
The site found that using a third-party app–the unimaginatively named “F*ckr”–users could uncover up to 600 Grindr users within minutes. That may sound similar to the main app, except that F*ckr deobfuscates the location, bringing it to an accuracy of six to 16 feet. Given the app can also leach the photograph, this is an early Christmas present to stalkers, opening to the potential to tie down users to a single room of a house.
If that’s not creepy enough, F*ckr can also access a user’s most sensitive sexual information, including HIV status, last HIV test date, and, oh yeah, all those photos you thought were private.
Queer Europe adds:
After security vulnerabilities had been revealed in 2014, Grindr disabled the distance function in some homophobic countries, such as Russia, Nigeria, Egypt, Iraq and Saudi Arabia. However, it is still possible to locate users in many other countries, such as Algeria, Turkey, Belarus, Ethiopia, Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Oman, Azerbaijan, China, Malaysia and Indonesia. The governments of these countries heavily repress LGBTQ+ people and can easily exploit this vulnerability to blackmail individuals or to surveil queer communities.
Since the story broke, F*ckr has been disabled by its host, GitHub. Meanwhile, Grindr President and CEO Scott Chen rushed out a statement saying the app “will continue trying to evolve and improve our platform”; however, he didn’t offer any specific improvements or any timeline for when the improvements will be implemented.
Related: Yikes! Grindr has a major security flaw that can pinpoint a user’s exact location
Hussain-TheCanadian
A hookup App with shady security measures????????? I’M SHOCKED!! SHOCKED I TELL YOU!!
Chrisk
I was skeptical too but then I heard they’re owned by the Chinese now. Very relieved to know it’s in good hands.
Hussain-TheCanadian
Gawd I hope you’re being sarcastic Chris; I don’t trust the Chinese at all. I don’t know if you follow the political and business news out of Far East Asia, I do, and its a monthly ritual now that a protest erupts somewhere across China against this company or that company for corruption or incompetence.
I know our companies do the same when our governments, especially yours, begins to hound them for data and info, but at least with us, the companies can say no. The impression I get from the Chinese government, there is a “no” option.
Bob LaBlah
I don’t remember giving Google permission when they asked for my location when I first bought my computer but some how they know where I am. When I go online looking for anything local stores pop up with my specifying what are I live. Its a fact we all have to live with. Nothing on the internet is private and a cellphone is nothing more than a sophisticated walkie-talkie that too can be hacked.
Hussain-TheCanadian
You’re right Bob, in the end of the day, all of what you said is true.
The thing about the Chinese government though, they have a problem with gay people, and i don’t feel well thinking about what they can do with our private info readily available.
Bob LaBlah
Hussain, I tried to post a youtube video about gay pride in Taiwan but its being held for “moderation” so as you know it won’t be posted but if you have a minute go to youtube and check it out.
Hussain-TheCanadian
Oh dayum, talk about super-cute every where – I need to visit Taiwan it looks like a nice chill place – With my luck, the day my plane lands is the day the Chinese decide to frikkin invade.
Chrisk
I live in an apartment bldg so not too worried about that.
StraightnNarrow
If you are on one of those hookup apps to have anonymous sex with different guys and then end up being stalked by a psycho or a criminal, you shouldn’t be surprised at what happens to you. You ask for trouble and now you are getting it.
GetOffMyInternets
@straighrnnarrow Does anyone on the planet find you interesting, much less fun? You’d be lucky if the mailman found you appealing. And as for a psycho finding you personally….one can have hopes and dreams can’t they?
surfpenis
I just use Grindr to get my dick sucked and I *never* log on from my home or business. I never meet anyone in my home, either.
StraightnNarrow
Another sex addicted promiscuous slut who indulges in anonymous, totally impersonal risky sex. Be careful about your new trick who might bite off your penis while you enjoy your sinful pleasure.
Heywood Jablowme
@StraightnNarrow: Women must find you irresistible. Or did your church assign one of your half-sisters to be your wife? Anyway, you’re still going to hell for being on a gay site all the time and jerking off to the pictures.
Also, “promiscuous slut” is a redundancy!
StraightnNarrow
I am proudly gay and stick to the straight and narrow. Honesty, integrity, and morality matter to me the most. I am anti hard drugs, despise porn, and view promiscuous gays as wanting in their character. I am fed up with fem gays and fully support men who act like a man.
Heywood Jablowme
@StraightnNarrow: Yeah I bet you’re real butch. And I bet you’ve never listened to a tape recording of your own voice. You probably sound a lot fruitier than you realize.
KevInSD
@Straightandnarrow – Glad to see you here. I differ with you on porn, which I think is actually helpful for men to avoid promiscuity until they find an LTR or marriage. But leaving that aside, I really appreciate your other comments. You get a lot of incredibly hostile reactions because you have men here who have essentially invested their entire lives in the quasi-religious belief that lifetime promiscuity is normal and healthy. When someone challenges that, it’s like challenging their religion, and that makes them hostile.
@Heywood – It’s hilarious that the way you go after S&N is to say that he has a girly voice. You have no idea of how to burn someone. You don’t attack them for something which you couldn’t possibly know about through text communication. It makes you look desperate. Also, by attacking him as fem, you are admitting that effeminacy is a bad thing, which means you are conceding his point. So you are a fail all around. And fem too.
Heywood Jablowme
@Kevin/Danny: I’m not “conceding” his point, since having a notably “gay” voice is neither a bad thing nor a good thing. But YOU think talking “fem” is horrible, so you should probably take the voice recording experiment yourself, at extended length. You might be surprised. In fact I can pretty much guarantee it. 🙂
Again. it’s interesting that the topic of “fem” arose here when the article doesn’t even mention it. Either you or “Straight” always bring it up out of the blue. Yeah, keep bringing it up out of the blue like that. No one will think you have an insecure obsession or anything.
Again, again, again… no one engages in “lifetime” promiscuity. That doesn’t happen for several reasons, all of which a smart person could think of rather quickly, even if he were quite young (and all of which I’ve explained previously to your several previous screen names). Gay men tend to settle down in their late 30s / early 40s, in my observation. Some say a little earlier. So you can stop worrying about that.
Somehow on Queerty you see “95%” bad stuff (in your view) which is solely an indication of your own neuroses and not anyone else’s. I don’t know why you always think Queerty et al. are always pushing “lifetime promiscuity” when they have so many articles about marriage marriage marriage all over the place, like every gay site nowadays.
Juanito malo
LOL..as if anyone told the truth on Grindr……
baal61
LMAO! You put it out’ it everybody’s!
KevInSD
loool! Ah the joys of the promiscuous life! Why would anyone want to get married and be surrounded by love and safety when you can risk exposure by hackers and exploitation by the Chinese government all for the chance at a quickie with a complete stranger who might rob or infect you?