Prior to 2020, Grindr shared location-based data with ad networks that tailored targeted ads promoting “hyperlocal” businesses like restaurants, bars, or hotels. Last year, Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, a Catholic priest, resigned after he was exposed as a Grindr user by a Catholic news site.
The Wisconsin priest’s alleged “activity” included frequenting a “gay bathhouse” in Las Vegas.
“Signals from the data app suggest he was concurrently engaged in serial and illicit sexual activity.”
“According to commercially available records of application signal data obtained by The Pillar, a mobile device correlated to Burrill emitted application data signals from the location-based login application Grindr on a almost daily basis during parts of 2018, 20 – both in his USCCB office and in his USCCB-owned residence, as well as at USCCB meetings and events around other cities,” the Pillar reported. Last year, a senior Catholic priest quit after he was exposed as a Grindr user thanks to reports circulating on advertising networks.īishop Jeffrey Burrill, who was the top administrator of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, resigned after a Catholic news site published an article detailing how he used Grindr and frequented gay bars. “Grindr doesn’t share users’ precise location, we don’t share user profile information, and we don’t even share industry standard data like age or gender.” The dating app which has millions of users said it stopped the practice two years ago. “Since early 2020, Grindr has shared less information with advertising partners than any of the major technology platforms and most of our competitors, limiting the information we share to IP address, user ID ad and basic information needed 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 customers of a mobile advertising company, allowed unknown third parties to learn sensitive information about users, including who they dated, where they lived and worked, and where they spent their free time. The company told the Wall Street Journal that it stopped sharing data with advertisers two years ago by cutting off the flow of all location information.