'There's a lot of opportunity to use Grindr as a tool to connect the gay community and make it stronger,' Simkhai said. Singer Lady Gaga is rumored to have crashed a Grindr party in Los Angeles that was advertised through the app's network. There's even an offshoot blog, Guys I Blocked on Grindr, where people post Grindr profile pictures of men who creeped them out for one reason or another - including one man who posed on Grindr with a gun.Ĭreators have used the Grindr network to mobilize users for rallies supporting same-sex marriage, and for charity events that support gay causes. Simkhai has heard reports of men using Grindr in Iran, Israel, Kazakhstan and on the same Virgin America flight with Wi-Fi. The 20,000 Bay Area users make San Francisco one of Grindr's busiest hubs, behind New York, Los Angeles and London. 'I'd always be sitting in rooms and wonder, 'Is that guy gay?' And now you can find out in a more comfortable, modern way,' said 33-year-old Joel Simkhai of Los Angeles, a former online marketer who created Grindr in spring 2009.Īs of this month, Grindr has 500,000 users worldwide, Simkhai says, and 2,000 more join daily.
No more wondering whether the object of your desire is desirous of you. No more accidentally hitting on straight guys.
