Grinderpopular Type of app At LGBT communityMost likely It leaked data from millions of users so that a third party could buy it. According to the Wall Street Journal, user location has been available since 2017, and even today, some records are still available to other companies.

Buying and selling raw data collected for commercial purposes by applications installed on it Smart phones Number of users is a common practice in the world of marketing and advertising.

In this case, the phone numbers and names of Grindr users will not be disclosed, but sensitive information such as their A location that helps establish connections between users Depending on the locations visited and the frequency of these visits.

This information is used to identify people, workplaces, private homes, using all their stereotypes, habits and routines. Will be recorded daily with the dating app, According to two anonymous sources about the situation in the WSJ.

Grindry responded to the accusation

The company responded through a spokesperson and assured them that by 2020 they had stopped using any ad network location so they would not be able to collect this information after that.

Sharing location on Grindr, like other dating apps, is essential as the app displays profiles by distance or distance chosen. Thus Users using Grindr should be given access to their location.

This information is shared with the ad network, where advertisers claim to place their ads in the app. Why do advertisers want to access a user’s location? To earn it Micro-segmented quotes or ads in your environment or wherever you are.

Threats of sharing Grindr locations

Grindr is an app used in many countries around the world, including some where homosexuality is still a crime. Therefore, if this type of data is shared in those areas, it could be a risk of prosecution, imprisonment and sometimes Death sentence.

But in countries where gayness is legal, publishing data can also pose threats, such as blackmailing those who do not live openly. The government USA Stepped on Forced Chinese company to leave Grindr for national security reasons in 2019; The risk of blackmail when using the app data and the ability of the Chinese government to use the app data for surveillance purposes.

Similarly, mobile advertising company clients Su They have been able to obtain bulk mobility data from phones that include many Grindr customers, at least since 2017 and possibly even earlier, people related to the issue have said.

This practice is neither new nor unique to Grinder.

By 2020 a Report The Norwegian research group Forbrukerrådet, in collaboration with the Norwegian Consumer Council, has revealed how personal phones are used every time, A large number of subjects receive information about their own preferences, habits and behaviors. In this poll, Grinder stood out for the same reason he was again this week because of the news.

According to this investigation, for the same year Grindr shared detailed user data with a large number of third parties engaged in advertising and profiling. This data includes IP address, advertising ID, location, age and gender.

The scandal was such that in December last year the company Was fined $ 6.5 million After a one-year trial in Norway for this reason.

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