A still image of Kindr teaser page | Photo: screenshot
Gay and trans dating app Grindr has hinted at the release of a nicer alternative: Kindr.
Grindr appears to have developed the new app to tackle online bullying and racism, Pink News has reported.
A deliberately vague webpage has been set up to publicise the launch.
The site shows a gif of a pink sheet being shaken, as voice overs from several men recount experiences of racial discrimination and stereotyping online.
‘When someone says something like, you know, ‘I don’t date black people – I’m talking about all black people,’ that would be referred to as sexual racism,’ one of the men says.
Grindr’s Twitter account has a pinned tweet saying: ‘It’s time to play nice. Dropping September 2018.’
Not doing enough?
Grindr has often faced criticism for not doing enough to address online abuse.
In 2015, GSN published an article which detailed widespread racism on Grindr. ‘I go on Grindr and see profiles saying ‘no blacks’, ‘no Asians’,’ wrote musician and activist Denis Fernando.
‘When I see phrases such as ‘no blacks’ ‘no Asians’ and ‘no Muslims’ on dating apps, it feels like something from the intolerant Britain of the 1960s when my parents faced ‘No Blacks, No Irish, No Dogs’ signs in landlord’s windows.’
In a 2016 interview with Israeli newspaper Haaretz, Grindr’s founder Joel Simkhai said there was little the company could do to confront online racism. “There have always been racists, ‘ Simkhai said. ‘I don’t like it, but it’s not my job to police such things. I’m not a sixth-grade teacher.’
Trans activist calls for improvements
Earlier this month, British transgender activist and model Munroe Bergdorf called on Grindr to address racism and abuse on the platform.
“Grindr has the resources and potential to become something positive and inclusive for the LGBTQ community in the future,” she wrote on a now archived Instagram post, Billboard reported. “I just hope they make the necessary changes to do so.”
Bergdorf later posted an update on Instagram saying she was to meet Grindr executives to discuss how the company was doing to combat online abuse.
