Grindr to stop sharing HIV status of users with third-party companies after fierce criticism

Gay dating app Grindr has said it will stop sharing its users' HIV status with other companies after it was heavily criticised for distributing the information to third parties. Tech firms Apptimize and Localytics, which help to manage the app's performance, had been provided with the data. As the HIV information is transferred alongside GPS, phone ID data, and email, users could be identified along with their HIV status, according to Antoine Pultier, a researcher at Norwegian non profit organisation, SINTEF, which first raised the issue. In response, Grindr's chief technology officer, Scott Chen, said sharing data with partners to test and optimise its platform was "industry practice". He insisted sensitive data was encrypted when sent and vendors were bound by strict contractual terms to ensure it is kept secure and confidential.