“Since early 2020, Grindr has shared less information with ad partners than any of the big tech platforms and most of our competitors, restricting the information we share to IP address, advertising ID, and the basic information necessary to support ad delivery,” a Grindr spokesperson said. The Journal reported that the data did not include details such as names or phone numbers. The data, which was purchased by clients of a mobile advertising company, allowed unknown third parties to know sensitive information about users, including whom they were dating, where they lived and worked, and where they spent their free time. The company told The Wall Street Journal that it ceased sharing data with advertisers beginning two years ago by cutting off the flow of any location information. Grindr, the popular gay dating app, sold data that tracked the precise movements of millions of its users beginning in 2017, which may have led to the outing of a senior Catholic priest, according to a report.
