Image Credit: The New York Times
Kunlun Group may have engineered a backdoor into the popular LGBTQ+ dating app.
Despite its turnover to Hong Kong-based company Kunlun Group last year, Grindr remains to be one of the most popular dating sites for non-heterosexual people. However, security concerns about the app have also been increasing as of late, especially with all the rumors going around in the online world.
One of the biggest concerns is related to user privacy, which many are accusing Kunlun Group of violating. Due to numerous reports of the same issue, US officials have begun to respond more seriously to the allegation, conducting an in-depth investigation on Grindr and its parent company.
According to the investigation results, Kunlun Group was found to have granted its employees access to many of its users’ personal data. The data includes personal information such as name, age, location, and interests, among others. Most of the employees who were apparently accessing such data are Chinese engineers working on the app. The breach was also found to have not been just a one-time thing, but rather a continuous incident that happened many times over the course of several months.
Thanks to the case, however, Group promises to sell off Grindr by summer of next year. Engadget says about the issue, “[this situation] reflects the U.S. government’s increasingly strict approach to Chinese companies– it doesn’t want even the slightest risk of China’s having access to private information.”
