Dating app Grindr warns of “wave of violence”
The number of violent acts involving the gay dating app Grindr is on the rise worldwide. Consequently, Grindr itself has been warning app users about violence for several months.
More and more perpetrators of violence are using Grindr to contact potential victims. Just this week in Brussels' Ixelles, a date via Grindr turned into a deadly home-invasion. The perpetrators used Grindr to find a victim, once he provided his address, they went to his home. One of the perpetrators shot the victim's father, the mother was shot in the arm. The son was also wounded.
And it appears to be a bad trend. “Already since June, we note a sharp increase in the number of reports of men who were victims of violence or theft after Grindr dates,” We are talking about more than 10 reports since June. “It really is a surge in violence. And that may only be the tip of the iceberg.” So states Mike Mayné, spokesman for Ex Aequo, an organization dedicated to gay men, in a comment to Het Nieuwsblad.
Grindr has been using a pop-up to warn its users for several months. Which reads, “Be safe: the Brussels region is plagued by violent and homophobic ambushes. In which more information can also be obtained, or users can report facts.
By the way, it appears to be a global problem. The fact that users can remain anonymous and share their exact location to within 100 meters makes the app interesting to criminals.
(FVDV for Tagtik/Source: Nieuwsblad/Illustration picture: Unsplash)