And you thought you only had to worry about your nudes getting leaked.
Nonprofit research company SINTEF says it has discovered that the popular dating/hookup app Grindr is sharing the HIV status of its approximately 3.6 million daily users with multiple companies.
For those who don’t use the app, users can indicate whether they are positive, negative, and/or being treated for the infection by using the app’s “HIV status” category.
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But according to Buzzfeed News, app optimization companies like Apptimize and Localystics have been receiving this information — along with users’ GPS data, phone ID, sexulaity, relationship status, and email address.
If all this information leaks beyond these companies, the report notes, users in certain regions could potentially be in danger. Electronic Frontier Foundation security researcher Cooper Quintin told Buzzfeed:
“When you combine this with an app like Grindr that is primarily aimed at people who may be at risk ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ especially depending on the country they live in or depending on how homophobic the local populace is ├óΓé¼ΓÇ¥ this is an especially bad practice that can put their user safety at risk.”
This safety doesn’t seem much of a concern to Grindr’s chief technology officer, who reportedly defended the choice to use the so-called “highly-regarded” data sharing platforms that puts app profiles at risk.
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While users might be okay with sharing that specific information on the app, the app’s privacy policy does not make it clear enough that this personal information could potentially be shared elsewhere.
We’d expect this kind of bullshit from Facebook, tbh, but it’s quite outrageous for a company that prides itself as a supporter of the queer community to be discreetly leaking the private health information of its users. Gross, Grindr.
[Image via Grindr.]
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