Grindr Permanently Disables Distance Function
We recently reported on a hack that allowed someone to triangulate the exact location of a Grindr user, down to what room in a house they were in.
Initially, a spokesman for the ubiquitous hookup app responded that the company didn't view the feature as a flaw: "For Grindr users concerned about showing their proximity, we make it very easy for them to remove this option and we encourage them to disable ‘show distance’ in their privacy settings."
But after mounting concerns, Grindr has now disabled the distance function permanently on the app. The company sent a new statement to America Blog regarding the decision:
In light of recent security allegations surrounding a user’s specific location, Grindr has made modifications to no longer show distance information for users.
Grindr will continue to make ongoing changes to keep all users secure, as necessary.
Prior to the change, Grindr users were pinpointed to prominent government buildings around the world, including the British House of Commons, the Kremlin and the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC.
