People take part in the annual LGBTQ Pride parade in Bangkok, Thailand, June 4, 2023. image credit: instagram

Athletes competing in the Olympics may not be the easiest romantic targets this year: In an effort to shield athletes from potential hostility or legal action, the LGBTQ+ dating app Grindr has blocked certain location-sharing capabilities.

Several app users have recently discovered that the “Explore” feature—which allows users to change their location and view profiles—is not accessible at the Olympic Village in Paris.

According to Grindr, that was intentional. Athletes who aren’t out or hail from countries with strong LGBTQ+ legislation “can put them at risk of being outed by curious individuals who may try to identify and expose them,” the business said in a blog post. People in the Village will still be able to use the app, but they will not be able to access some location services.

According to OutSports, out of the almost 10,000 athletes competing in the Paris Olympics, only about 155 identify as LGBTQ+.

The Olympic Village will also get other modifications from the corporation: For instance, the “show distance” function by default in profiles displays the distance to a user. While it’s configurable, users in the village and similar locations will see the option to turn it off as the default. Grindr stated that the purpose of the update is to “assist athletes connect without worrying about unknowingly disclosing their whereabouts or being recognized.”

For the duration of the two-week event, Grindr Village members can send as many unsent messages or disappearing messages as they want at no cost. Usually, the software will charge for those functions. For the time being, it is not possible to send private movies or disable screenshots within that radius.

According to Grindr, “Our goal is to help athletes connect without worrying about unintentionally revealing their whereabouts or being recognized.” The company also mentioned that it had implemented similar bans at earlier games.

Following a 2016 story by a heterosexual reporter from the Daily Beast about using Grindr to meet athletes in the Olympic Village in Rio de Janeiro, Grindr began to restrict its functionalities during the Olympics. Even though he didn’t name any of the sportsmen he described, the writer was accused of outing their homosexuality in the now-deleted post.

Grindr has lately unveiled ambitious expansion ambitions in an effort to shed its hookup image and attract users looking for long-term partnerships and recommendations for in-person events. With this year’s gains, the stock is up over 30%.