Exclusive: Grindr to stop sharing HIV status with third parties
The 'Grindr' app logo is seen amongst other dating apps on a mobile phone. Photo: Leon Neal / Getty Images
Grindr has stopped sharing users' HIV status with its third-party vendors, the company's head of security told Axios. However, much of the concerns with Grindr's data-sharing practices were a misunderstanding of what was being shared and with whom, says Grindr security chief Bryce Case.
The bottom line: Grindr may have been sharing more information than needed, but it insists the most sensitive information was encrypted and not shared with advertisers.
The vendors in question — Localytics and Apptimize — help Grindr manage its app performance and, in the case of Apptimize, test features on only a certain percentage of users.
"I understand the news cycle right now is very focused on these issues," Case said, but added, "I think what’s happened to Grindr is, unfairly, we’ve been singled out."
No Cambridge Analytica: He said people hear the term third parties and think that the company has been sharing information the way that Facebook user data ended up in the hands of Cambridge Analytica.
"It’s conflating an issue and trying to put us in the same camp where we really don’t belong."
— Case said in a telephone interview on Monday.
There is a difference he said between a "software platform we use for debugging and optimization purposes" as opposed to "a firm that’s trying to sway elections."
Making changes: Case said the company decided to change its policies around particularly sensitive information, including HIV status, after the user outcry.
Grindr also notes that, while HIV status can be a particularly sensitive issue in many parts of the world, and even in the U.S., it is an optional field on Grindr and when users do share that information it is available publicly to anyone viewing their profile.
And while advertisers do have access to other information, including age, interests, location and relationship status, HIV status is not shared.
"We’ve been very careful to balance the needs of our customers with the needs of our advertisers," Case said. "User trust is paramount."
Users still unhappy: Plenty of people were unsatisfied with Grindr's explanation, pointing out that most other sites aren't trusted with someone's HIV status.
More to come?: One of the vocal early critics was Sen. Ed Markey, who tweeted: "Privacy isn’t just about credit card numbers and passwords. Sharing sensitive information like this can put LGBT Americans at risk."
Generation Z's next battleground: lowering the voting age
Tens of thousands participate in the March for Our Lives Rally. Photo: Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images
Washington, D.C. is on the verge of becoming the first major U.S. city to allow people as young as 16 to vote in local and federal elections, including for president — under a proposal that has gotten support from a majority of the District’s council and the mayor.
Why it matters: Lowering the voting age to 16 from 18 is a direct attempt to capitalize on the post-millennial generation’s brewing political activism and power that have been radically heightened by the country’s increasingly polarized climate.
What they’re saying:
Councilmember Charles Allen, a Democrat who introduced the bill last week, said lowering in a statement that the act would spur civic engagement:
“We have no problem collecting taxes or fees from residents who are 16 and 17 – why shouldn’t we fully enfranchise them?”
Scott Warren, executive director of the nonpartisan Generation Citizen, which advocates for youth participation in politics and one of the main architects behind the D.C. proposal, acknowledged that the effort is largely seen as partisan. But he stressed the fact that young Americans are increasingly registering as independent. "So we really see this as an effort to create long-term voter behavior," he said.
The other side: Opponents argue teenagers aren't mature enough to make informed decisions and have argue that it’s a partisan push to get more Democratic voters in the rolls.
Yes, but: Little data exists on the political views of Generation Z, which constitutes those born after 1996. William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, said attitudes toward diversity, culture and gun control offer a glimpse of their thinking.
“One of the key elements of Generation Z is racial diversity and we have an administration that turns it’s back on diversity … as well as a wide range of social issues from immigration to gay marriage, marijuana legalization.”
— William Fray, who studies the millennial and post-millennial generations.
The backdrop: Localities have been expanding voting rights to younger people since 2013 through campaigns supported by Generation Citizen. Warren told Axios his group is targeting cities in California, Colorado and Maryland.
No state has lowered the voting age, but some have passed legislation allowing teenagers to pre-register to vote, and participate in primary elections if they will turn 18 by the general election. Cities can only extend voting rights to local elections, but D.C., can allow people over 16 to vote in any election.
What’s next: A public hearing for the proposal is expected in June and a vote before the year ends.
