Grindr Dating App Review

Grindr Dating App Review – What you need to know

Grindr is an excellent medium for the homosexual, bisexual and bi-curious community to meet other like-minded men, whether you are searching for a quick hook-up or making more friends. Since its creation in 2009, Grindr has become the most popular and recognised exclusively male dating app and social space, boasting 2.4 million daily active users and 27 million users in total.

Grindr has a number of useful features to ensure that every user can have their desired experience on the app. For instance, users can filter searches catered to their preferences and avoid those who are time wasting or not interested in meeting anyone at all.

Grindr prides itself on delivering a service which will optimise user enjoyment and of course safety. There are criteria that need to be met so that users have honest and legitimate profiles. In the Internet age, with increasing fears of cybercrime and ‘catfishing’, Grindr attempts to address such qualms and create an all-male social network, where friends and hookups can be made.

Grindr Dating App Review – the Statistics

Since its creation in 2009, Grindr has come on leaps and bounds, to the point where it is now one of the big names in the dating app industry. Its USP is inevitable that it is an all-male social network, which serves in many ways to filter out time wasters and catfishes and the fact that it is a geosocial app and is a pioneer in bringing forward this aspect to the dating app industry.

Grindr has a strong emphasis on creating a visual interface which is easy to navigate, while including detailed search features to maximise user compatibility and preferences.

Grindr has users in a staggering 196 countries and users spend an average amount of 54 minutes a day on the app.

Grindr is the most searched for app by users in

• California
• Nevada
• Missouri
• Mississippi

and has been so successful that 38.47% of the company was bought by Beijing Kunlun Tech in 2017, with the company having previously bought 60% the previous year. This has led to Grindr being overall valued at $155 million dollars.

It must be said that Grindr as a dating app is primarily focussed on quick and easy hook-ups and has earned this reputation among the gay dating community. The heavy emphasis on building up a strong visual interface also serves to continue Grindr’s reputation as a hook up dating site.

Grindr was one of the pioneering dating apps with regards to matching users together based on geographical location and this very feature, alongside an easy sign up process, sees many users return to the site and accounts for it attracting 2.4 million users a day. Grindr’s search process is also very specific and enables its users to find a tailor-made man of their choice. Whether you are searching for a masculine and athletic man or a more feminine man, Grindr will cater to your preferences.

While Grindr operates on a ‘freemium’ model there is also a premium version, which gives users some considerable perks. The paid version of Grindr offers a significantly larger network than the free version, with potential access to over 600 users in your local area, as well as the ability to further filter and fine tune the searches for your ideal man. I will discuss this further in the next section of this review.

Grindr appeals to a wide range of people and age demographics, from 18-40 year olds. Although Grindr has been somewhat touted as a hook-up dating app, this does not mean that it only caters for a younger audience. Many Grindr users are older and mature men who are looking to find potential suitors. With Grindr being a geosocial dating app, its users have access to an extensive interface of like-minded singles looking for some loving! With the app also reaching 196 countries worldwide, it is applicable in an abundance of leading languages, hence why the site attracts 2.4 million daily users. Grindr is available on all Android and IOS devices, including mobile devices, meaning that its users can find hookups on the go and based on their geographical locational.

Grindr Dating App Review – What it packs

While Grindr is often regarded as a hook-up site, there are a number of exciting features which millions of its users can enjoy. Messaging is very easy and simple via Grindr, with timestamps set as to when messages have been sent by users. Those who opt for the premium Grindr service, also have the ability to send several photos at once and template and save common phrases that can then be sent quickly.

Much of Grindr’s appeal as a dating app, is its geographical function and its ability to match users with one another based on their proximity. Grindr, in many respects, was the pioneer in this aspect, which is now the hallmark of any successful dating app available. Grindr also operates on a reasonably simple model, and so the interface is straightforward to navigate, and its visual appeal means that it is continuing to be used by men all over the world. This geosocial space is the central feature of the app, as users can see an interface with a grid of potential matches, arranged in a specific order, from those nearest to your location to those who are the farthest away. If a particular user takes your fancy, you can click on their picture to see a shorthand version of their profile, with options to chat directly to them, send them photos and/or share your location.

As of 2017, all Grindr users have benefitted from the apple push-notifications feature, which was once reserved for premium, Grindr Xtra subscribers.

The main Grindr interface is controlled by a taskbar at the bottom, with icons for various functions. The mask icon in the middle of this bar is the main menu, in which you can edit and view your profile, and it also gives you the option to subscribe to Grindr Xtra which I will touch upon in a moment. There is also a segment on the taskbar, in which you can click on and view your chats, while there is a filter option, in which you can both see which users are online and in your vicinity as well as set filters for your desired search and cater to your preferences.

One of the Grindr features which I touched upon before is the premium version of the app, Grindr Xtra, which gives users access to a wider range of features and perks, including the removal of pop up advertisements, as well as an immediate access to 600 users in your nearby location. Grindr Xtra also allows users to have an unlimited amount of times they can block another profile, as well as a more specific search engine that has further criteria, such as the likes of age weight and height. There are different Grindr Xtra subscription offers, the standard £10.99 a month price, to a price of £5.99 per month for three months, £4.99 for 6 and £3.74 for a whole year.

Grindr Dating App Review – the last word

There is no denying that Grindr is one of the most professional and respected dating apps out there and despite the fact that it is largely used as a hookup site, its users are under no illusions that it is anything otherwise.

Grindr as a geosocial app, matching together users based on their geographical location, is an innovative feature and one which many other dating apps have taken note of and replicated. The search filter is another aspect which is very useful for finding the exact sort of suitor that may take your fancy. You can quite literally fine tune to your tastes and preferences and especially as it is largely a hook-up site, the visual interface also helps to draw in and retain many users. The free version of the app is also a sufficient enough service to mean that users can enjoy Grindr’s many features for absolutely nothing.

The only drawback I will mention in this Grindr Dating App Review is that, although the app developers try their utmost to maintain safety and the legitimacy of profiles, there remains a high number of fake profiles on the site. The free app also has a number of pop up adds which can also be irritating and affect the smoothness of the interface. Overall, though, Grindr is the biggest name in the gay dating industry and so there are an abundance of people and profiles to trawl through and potentially find the man for you.

Grindr Dating App Review – Rating

All in all, I think Grindr is the best dating app for the homosexual, bisexual and bi-curious community. There is a very wide age demographic, from as young as 18 to as old as 40+. As a hook up site, Grindr is a very effective way for men to meet each other. The geographical aspect and detailed search features are very helpful in this regard.

If you are looking to find a long-term relationship, Grindr is arguably not for you, as it can be a very sexually orientated and fickle world at times. This is not to say that you cannot meet sensible and mature men via Grindr and as a gay, bisexual or bi-curious man it is a great way to meet like-minded people in a relatively safe and enjoyable environment. For this reason, in this Grindr Dating App Review, I would give 4/5*s. It does what it says on the tin!

Download Grindr and see for yourself!

Apple iTunes Store 2.5 stars

Android Google Play 3.5/5 stars