Grindr Admits Sharing Users' HIV Status With Other Companies

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Same-sex dating app Grindr says it shared users' HIV status with two other companies.

In a statement, company CTO says users have the option of sharing their status and their last testing date when creating their profiles.

"We make it clear in our privacy policy that if you choose to include this information in your profile, the information will also become public," the statement reads. "As a result, you should carefully consider what information to include in your profile."

Grindr says two companies, Localytics and Apptimize, were paid to test and monitor how the app is used but that they are under strict contractual terms that provide for the highest level of confidentiality, data security, and user privacy.

The statement says any data from HIV status fields were transmitted securely with encryption and there are data retention policies in place to protect users.

The company maintains it is up to each user to decide what to share about themselves in their profiles, including HIV information.

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