General description

Grindr – Gay chat app is a very popular free dating platform for 18+ LGBTQ people regularly updated since 2009. Grindr XTRA option opens more opportunities but one can enjoy the most of features for free. According to statistics, approx. 30 million messages and 2 million photos are sent through Grindr daily.

 

 

 

Pros:

• 7 million users in the US and worldwide (192 countries)
• Personalized profiles
• Convenient group chats for LGBT communities
• Location-based search
• Favorites list and blocking the undesirable users
• Safe reporting of abusing members
• Easy chat with saved phrases in a paid version
• Photos depicting nudity or sex acts are strictly prohibited
• HIV status is included and can be seen (only by registered members)
• “My type” feature allows to search for one’s favourite category: Bear, Daddy, Jock etc.
• 500 unique, special Gaymojis not available in any other messengers
• “Tap” option allows to show one’s keen interest without words

Cons:

• For hookups only; mostly contains sexual data
• Vague profiles and hidden faces on profile photos
• Annoying ads and bots in a free version
• No modern features, fun ice-breakers, tests, games and so on
• Only 100 profiles a day can be viewed in a free version
• Sending a limited number of photos in a free version
• Height, Weight, and Body Type search criteria are only available to paid users
• Many photo pickers who aren’t after the real meeting
• No way to filter the messages
• Geo-location is not very accurate
• No notifications for free members
• Slow customer support
• Crashes often, especially on Android
• Battery and data usage is pretty high
• Parents do not consider it safe even for late teenagers

FREE

Grindr XTRA 1 month: $11.99

Grindr XTRA 3 months: $29.99

Grindr XTRA 6 months: $50.99

Grindr XTRA 12 months: $77.99

 

Users’ comments:

“I won’t say anything extraordinary, just a popular app to get laid on the same evening, but I met quite cool personalities through it. No one to date seriously though. For now I’m ok with that, but I wouldn’t stay here longer if I wanted to find a long-term partner.” (Eric, New York City)

“This place is mostly for guys but girls and queer can be met too, I met two interesting women for one night, but nothing more profound. I would really like some app where people discuss living together, adopting a baby or smth like that. It’s a bit frustrating when everything is about sex and looks so cheap.” (Rose, London)

Best 3 dating apps on 2019

 

Expert’s opinion:

Grindr remained a number one gay hookup app for years until modernized and innovative platforms appeared in the market. Of course, some of them cost 3 times more, which is also an important criterion. But it’s obvious that Grindr isn’t suitable anymore for creative people who prefer more trendy dating apps and of course, for gays who want to find a serious relationship. In a today world, LGBTQ community feels much freer than decades ago and tends to build families with children, so hookup partners might not be everything they need. Moreover, even have something bigger to offer nowadays: a super-quick, almost automatic finding someone near without wasting time for meaningless chats and endless erotic photos exchange.

Some people may stick to the same app for years. Others are students who cannot spend big money on dating. In both cases, Grindr works just fine. But one should keep in mind that a free version almost isn’t usable. Too many ads and bots, constant crashing demand patience and time that no one really has. The situation is a bit better on Apple than on Android and it’s better to get XTRA from the beginning.

The general conclusion is: the app is still too good to disregard it, but it’s far from being perfect and the developers don’t seem to do anything about that. It’s hard to recommend it as a safe one: although it’s a sex app for meeting strangers, there aren’t special features for preventing/reporting abuse, and customer support is way too slow to react properly. The only safety measure is taken by the users themselves: they simply don’t show their faces on the photos. Which doesn’t help to like them or choose between them of course!

Therefore, using Grindr is an adventure but how cool or how risky it is, mostly depends on one’s tactics and decisions he takes. We would say, it’s ok for 25+ people who are already experienced and smart enough to stay away from unnecessary worries. And it’s definitely exciting for all ages as it succeeds to bring people together.

Expert’s Rating

Overall                       4 stars

Price                           5 stars

Features                      4 stars

Communication          4 stars

Safety                         4 stars

Customer Support      3 stars

Technical information:

Requires Android: 4.1 and up

Requires iOS: 9.0 or later

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