The hook-up app Grindr has made the decision to block its location-sharing feature in the Olympic Village in a bid to protect the privacy of athletes, especially those whose countries have restrictive LGBTQ+ laws.

With the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics set to take place in Milan, Italy, this Friday, February 6, Grindr has said its location feature becomes a “liability” for LGBTQ+ athletes. The app specified that especially for “those who aren’t out or who come from countries where being gay is dangerous or illegal, that visibility creates real safety risks.”

In a statement published on their website, Grindr pointed to a number of safety and privacy issues which may arise through misuse of the location-sharing feature.

“Grindr shows users who’s nearby and how far away they are,” the statement read. “In most contexts, that’s useful. In the Olympic Village where thousands of athletes are packed into a small area, those same features may become a liability.

“Someone outside the Village could browse profiles inside it. Distance data could be used to pinpoint someone’s exact location. And simply appearing on Grindr tells the world something about a person’s identity that, in more than 60 countries, remains a criminal offence.”

With this in mind, Grindr will turn off the Explore and Roam feature and the Show Distance feature within the boundaries of the Olympic Village. Athletes will still be able to use the hook-up app; however, Grindr will not broadcast their location.

In addition to the blocking of these features, Grindr will allow athletes in the village to access features which are typically paywalled, including disappearing messages, unsend, screenshot blocking, and the ability to flag a conversation up to 24 hours after it ends.

This is not the first instance of Grindr blocking location-sharing features in the Olympic Village. The app took similar measures during the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics and the Summer 2024 Olympics in Paris.