| 10 million members | 3 million/daily |
| 4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
| low fraud risk | Verification email, Facebook |
| $9.99 – $47.88 subscription price |
Grindr app is one of the world’s most popular gay dating apps that allows men to meet each other. There is a great number of dating sites designed for GBT people’s needs, but what is the secret of their success and popularity? Launched in 2009, today they host millions of users daily.
Grindr presents itself as a global community committed to creating a diverse and inclusive environment. Discrimination, hatred, or other forms of toxic behavior are not allowed. The users are welcome to be themselves, but not at others’ expense. If you are a gay, bi, trans, or just curious man, this will be a great dating and hookup app, and I will try to prove it.
Affordability
★★★★☆
Any male can use the Grindr app. Download it for free and enjoy the talks with new friends. There are two paid plans: XTRA and UNLIMITED.
Grindr XTRA is the premium version of the app. The price of the subscription depends on how long you would like to use this service: a year, 3 months, or 1 month.
| 3 Months | 6.99 USD / Month | 20.97 USD |
| 6 Months | 4.99 USD / Month | 29.94 USD |
| 1 Year | 3.99 USD / Month | 47.88 USD |
Before paying for the subscription, you may try XTRA for free. But be attentive, you need to cancel the trial at least 72 hours before it ends.
Grindr UNLIMITED version costs $49.99 per month or $300 for a full-year membership.
Free services
Honestly, the site administration is generous with free services, and free members have access to all the features vital for full-fledged conversation. You can create a profile, view up to 100 matches, sell and receive messages from your matches, see profiles, use basic filters, create a group chat. And additionally, you can choose 1 tribe (“tribes” mean groups based on sexual preference).
Paid services
If you pay for the XTRA account, you will view up to 600 matches; chat, tap, and favorite via Explore mode; choose 3 tribes instead of 1. You’ll have no ads, will be able to quickly re-send recent photos, personalized push notifications are other perks for paid subscribers.
The Grindr UNLIMITED subscription gives access to the most advanced features of the site to its owner. You can browse and chat the unlimited number of people, see those who viewed your profile, be incognito, undo sent messages and photos, use all filters, know when someone is typing a message to you. All these features are not essential for being active on the site, but they make you feel comfortable here. I’ve made a small main features table for you to see and compare the differences:
| Free account | Xtra | Unlimited | |
| Profile creation | + | + | + |
| Matches | 100 | 600 | unlimited |
| Filters | basic | all | all |
| Tribes | 1 | 3 | 3 |
My conclusion is clear: free members have enough freedom to communicate, to make friends, to search out.
Audience Quality
★★★☆☆
No surprise that all the members are male: gay, bi, trans, and those who are interested in the non-straight lifestyle. The visitors are from different countries. It is said that 25% of the users are from the US. The UK, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong are also popular. 228 million messages and 20 million photos are sent every day. It’s a pity and not fair that the residents of some countries are not welcome (Egypt, China, Russia, Ukraine, Turkey, Iran, etc.)
Judging by the photos, there are lots of interesting men who use the site. But some things about the photos seemed embarrassing to me. First of all, it is weird to see photos of animals and nature as user pics, though photos should be approved by Grindr’s team. And they approve cats and oceans. Animals and clouds are OK, too.
Another thing is that users without photos feel well here. Frankly speaking, I also ignored this point and didn’t add my photo, and I didn’t have any problem because of it. And those men who were brave enough to place their photos in profiles often choose the shirtless photos. These Grindr “nudes” are the hottest pictures on the site as nudity and pornography are not allowed here, but my self-confidence suffers when I look at these muscular torsos.
The display names are also a bit strange. It is difficult to find personal names, and these are examples of users’ nicknames: text me again, let’s chat, be masculine!, No generoso, Now-you host, NoPicNoChat, Dick ryder, Pls have a pic. I think I wouldn’t be wrong to say that this place is good for hookups but not search for serious relationships.
Age Distribution
Age is the only restriction, users under 18 or 21 (in places where 21 is the age of majority) are not allowed to use Grindr services. The average age is from 25 to 34, and the oldest user I saw was 67. The better chats were with men older than 25, younger boys are not so active.
Fakes and Scammers
The signing up process is so easy and you are not required to be verified. That is why you may expect lots of fakes here. But in fact, this place is quite safe. It is not so difficult to recognize a fake. The site offers the option of adding the social network profiles to the profile. View Instagram or Facebook of your contact before you answer. Grindr support encourages users to report any suspicious profile activity.
Some users told me about the bots, but they can be easily spotted. Their conversation is automated, so don’t click the links they send to you, and they’ll do you no harm.
And a large group of catfishers consists of… women. Some girls think it is funny to pretend to be gay and to cheat their sexting partners. I heard lots of Grindr stories about such girls, but I didn’t see any. Though I saw several obviously women’s photos in profiles, these users insisted they were transgenders (yes, I think this app is good for trans dating).
The major part of users seems real and they are rather active.
Interface
★★★☆☆
Very briefly, I don’t like Grindr’s color scheme at all. Please, no offense, but this totally black background brings me down and makes me think of the funeral. I know some other apps like Grindr designed for men with more attractive colors. For example, Manhunt Gay with its tasteful and neat design. And another alternative which I like the best is Pure. I always recommend Pure because of its calm background which doesn’t hurt my eyes. But yet, it makes me think about sexy things.
Signing Up
The Grindr sign up process is quick and easy, it takes less than a minute. You can use either your email, or Facebook/Google account, or phone number, but there is no obligatory verification. And if you don’t link your social network accounts to your Grindr profile or don’t use your phone to sign up, you’ll remain totally unverified.
You’ll need to accept Terms of Service before you complete your signup and pass the captcha. Congratulations, you are signed up now. Remember that your email will be your Grindr login if you don’t want to add you social media accounts.
Profile
The profiles are rather informative. You can specify your age, height, gender, ethnicity, relationship status, and whom you are looking for. You can also write some words about your personality. Such fields as “My Tribes” and Position are about your sexual preferences and self-identification. You are to choose between Bear, Clean-cut, Daddy, Discreet, Geek, Jock, Leather, Otter, Poz, Rugged, Trans, and Twink to define your Tribe.
The most provocative point of the profile is Sexual Health. This means that there is a field in each profile where any user can let others know if he is HIV-positive or negative.
I don’t think that sharing HIV status on any website is a good idea. There is always a chance that this information will become public knowledge.
Here you can also read Sexual Health FAQ to learn more about this disease. Information is available not only in English but in different languages.
When you visit your matches’ profiles you can add those you liked to the list of your favorites. You can view it clicking the star at the bottom of the page.
Searching
There are two ways to search on this site. First of all, the system offers you 100 matches per day (if you have free membership), 600 matches (if you paid for XTRA account), or an unlimited number for the owners of UNLIMITED subscription. It seems to me that 100 is quite enough. You can see them in the Nearby section, and you can see only those near you.
Another way is the Explore mode. Only paid members can use it. Click an airplane in the upper right corner and you’ll see a map. Find a place where you want to search and view profiles.
If you find someone to your taste, write him a message or tap him. Taps are the icons which serve to draw someone’s attention to your person. This Grindr pics are very popular on the site, many users send them to attract your attention. I received 25 flames during the evening, and it is not the limit.
Chat
Chats are free and unlimited. You can send text messages, photos, taps, and even voice messages to any match the system offered to you. No restrictions, that’s great! But if you want to chat with someone far from your locals, you need to pay.
Download the Gaymoji app for iOS or Android by Grindr to have more fun. This is an LGBTQ-themed emoji collection that will help you to express yourself.
Mobile App
Grindr is a full-mobile app available on iOS and Android. Unfortunately, there is no Grindr for PC and the only way to use it on the desktop is the Android emulator installation. Now you are ready to use Grindr without the app.
Security and Privacy
★★☆☆☆
Email verification is not required, social network profiles are added optionally, the captcha at the moment of registration is not a safe way to prove your identity.
Another sticky point is that two years ago The Guardian revealed the fact that Grindr shared the information on users’ HIV statuses with third parties. After this scandal, they agreed to stop sharing, but I’m not sure that this place is really secure. This is the reason why I prefer Pure. Pure never shares its users’ information, and I feel comfortable when I use it. Self-destructing chats make me think that nobody will read my secret talks, whatever the topic is.
Hookup Chance
★★★★☆
This platform is so popular among the members of the GBTQ community because of several reasons. One of them is that Grindr hookup chance is high. The audience is active and large, and they really want to date.
They like Grindr because they can be themselves there.
I received more than 20 messages right after registration. I think that is no small number. Take into account my nearly empty profile page and absence of a photo, but they still want to talk to me. The mind boggles trying to imagine how popular I will be if I add my photo to the profile.
Matching Algorithm
Matching is location-based only. You can narrow the choice down using the filters, but in any case, you’ll see those near you. This makes no sense if you live in a small place far from big centers.
Users’ Experience
I think my experiment was successful. But what about other users? Are all of them satisfied?
Alternatives
Yes, I like Grindr. I like Grindr memes which are popular in the gay community, I like Gaymojis. But it is not the best app, of course, though it is a noteworthy one. It is useful to think of the alternatives in case of some problems. Is Grindr down right now? Check out our list and choose another app for this evening.
| 11 millions members | 300k per months |
| 4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
| low fraud risk | Verification email, phone, photo |
| $0.95 – $45.95 subscription price |
★★★★★
Pure is the ideal place for a hookup, no matter what gender you belong to. You don’t need to reveal much personal information, so you feel secure and self-confident. You have 24 hours to understand if you want a real date with this person or not. Then your chat will disappear. That is why the users are goal-oriented here and they don’t have endless talks and hesitations. Come on, your best dating is closer than you think.
| 1.5 million members | 40,000/weekly |
| 4/5 hookup chance | High Sex Chance |
| low fraud risk | Verification email, Facebook |
| $29.95 - $143.95 subscription price |
★★★★☆
This is one of the best apps for bisexual and bi-curious people. Thousands of bisexual singles are looking for a match here. They may be in search of serious relationships, friends, or a hookup. Find a person with the same goals.
| 6 million members | 60,000 active users |
| 3/5 hookup chance | Medium Sex Chance |
| low fraud risk | Verification email |
| $10 - $75 subscription price |
★★★☆☆
Adam4Adam is an online gay dating platform designed for men to meet other men. Try this platform is you are open to experiments and ready for real meetings. You are welcome even if your native language is not English.
FAQ
What is Grindr?
Grindr is a dating app that is designed to help GBTQ+ community members to find each other.
Is there Grindr for straight men or Grindr for women?
No. This app is for men only. If you want “straight” Grindr, try another app, Pure, for example.
How can I start Grindr?
Download the Grindr app, install it, set up your account, and start exploring the app.
There is a “Grindr unable to refresh” issue, what shall I do? Is Grindr down in this case?
Close your Grindr, clear cache, and start your Grindr again.
How can I install the Grindr app if I have no access to Google Play Store? Can I install Grindr APK?
Yes, you can do this, but we strongly recommend you to use trusted sources like Google Play.
Can I use Grindr online on my PC?
No, there is no Grindr PC version.
Can Grindr track me?
Yes. Grindr can track your location via GPS or Wi-Fi.
Can I stay anonymous on Grindr?
Yes. All the ways to verify your identity are optional. You may skip filling your profile and chat without the user pic at all.
Can I block the users?
Yes. If you don’t want this user to disturb you, enter his profile and click a round badge at the top of the page. If you want to unblock this person, enter Settings, then go to Unblock Users. There you can unblock any person you want.
How to delete the Grindr account?
Enter the Settings, then select Deactivate, find a Delete Account button at the bottom of the page. Click it. Then you will be asked to explain the reasons for your decision (you may skip it). You’ll be asked several times to give up the idea of leaving the site, but if you are tenacious, you will do it. But don’t forget that you’ll have no chance to use the same email if you decide to return.