How Grindr poses porn risks for minors, and how to block it

Grindr, primarily a dating app for the gay community, is increasingly becoming a platform where inappropriate and even porn content is common. Although Grindr makes it clear that its service is limited to 18+ adult users only, there is no shortage of minors active on it with fake profiles. As a parent, you must know what this means and worry about it. 

This article focuses on what is potentially wrong with the app and how explicit content may find its way into the hands of young ones. We’ll share methods you can use to block apps like Grindr and porn content on your kids’ phones. 

What is Grindr, and why is it popular?

Grindr is a social network app developed primarily for LGBTQ+. It enables people to search for potential matches in the same region using the swipe option.

By showing profiles of the neighbors, Grindr enhances the feeling of involvement and provides opportunities for casual connections.

Below is a list of the features that make up Grindr.

• Location-based matching: Grindr operates primarily through GPS, linking users within a particular range.
• Profile creation: Users can add personal details, images, and information about their interests.
• Messaging: Users can exchange messages with other users registered in the program.
• Chatrooms: Grindr also allows users to have chatrooms where they can chat about almost everything.
• Favorites and blocks: Adding other users to the list of favorites or blocking them is possible.

Many young people in the LGBTQ community love using the Grindr app. This is as a result of several factors, including the following:

1. Social acceptance. Grindr has become more accepting of the change in the social reality of the LGBTQ+ community.

2. Ease of use. Due to the simplicity and small number of functions, youth will easily comprehend and apply this application.

3. Anonymity. To some users, Grindr creates a way to interact with others anonymously, and some find it helpful because it makes them feel safe.

4. Community. The app enables this group of people to feel connected despite the fact that they feel neglected in society.

5. Accessibility. It also comes in different platforms, for instance, through mobile phones and tablets, which youths can easily access.

Risks of Grindr for minors

Grindr has implemented a user age limit of 18 years. However, minors can circumvent this restriction by falsifying their ages when signing up and gaining access to the platform. This exposes minors to several dangers, including:

1. Exposure to porn content. Adults use Grindr to facilitate social and sexual interactions, so it’s highly likely to share explicit content on the platform. Minors may have a hard time processing pornographic content on the platform. In turn, they develop mental health issues. 

2. Blackmail and sextortion. Blackmail and sextortion. There is a high risk that personal and sensitive information shared on the platform can be used to blackmail. Users may blackmail victims into sharing nude pics or engaging in sexual activities, and it’s usually hard for minors to handle and solve these.  

3. Grooming by predators. Grindr has long been a hunting ground for some predators. They may exploit young users and lure them into starting harmful relationships to get there.

4. Inappropriate conversations with adults. Conversing with adults on Gridr could expose minors to inappropriate dialogues. They may get harassed by some impactful adult topics. 

Understanding the effects of pornography on minors

The impact that pornography material has on young people’s brains is very much psychological and emotive. It might stick with one for the rest of his or her life.

Among these, some of the potential outcomes are as follows.

• Distorted perception of relationships and sex: Many young people perceive relationships incorrectly, especially intimacy, by watching materials that do not represent real life.

• Exposure to violence and sex exploitation: Watching pornography that contains violence or degrading to women may make the child accept it as normal, something that is unhealthy.

• Higher levels of compulsive sexual prevalence: Excessive use of pornography contributes to the development of compulsive sexual behaviors, either as an addiction or preoccupation.

• Poor self-image and body image: Pornography influences the beauty standards that make the youths develop low self-esteem.

• Loneliness and isolation: The over-reliance on such material distorts positive social interaction, hence leading to withdrawal.

• Higher incidence of rape: Many people believe that early initiation to pornography could lead to increased vulnerability to the act of sexual abuse.

How is porn content accessible on Grindr?

Grindr has an 18+ age limit. Nonetheless, the extent of certainty about the application and its ability to ensure compliance with this rule is questionable.

Age is very easy to fake in the app because the applications do not provide a strict way of verifying age. This makes it possible for individuals below the required age to set up accounts and get access to the app. 

The minute minors get on Grindr, they will be vulnerable to coming across the material in different shapes and forms.

1. Profile photo and appearance descriptions. People can post profile messages containing sexually explicit or provocative images and words.

2. Direct messages. Recipients are able to text and share sexually explicit pictures and content with each other.

3. Links to external content. Users might provide links to other websites and services, where those services generate content with pornographic materials.

Newspaper articles and blog posts have substantiated cases of children being taken through bad content on Grindr. 

For example, a survey by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children found that the majority of children who use that app said that they found pornography. 

Such examples are quite indicative of the real risk that underage consumers are exposed to. They cannot handle what Grindr may contain, which could be sensitive and risky.

Does Grindr monitor or restrict porn content?

Grindr has stated policies against sexual content; however, the efficiency of these policies is very doubtful.

The app relies on the help of AI and real people as moderators to monitor content produced in the platform. 

But the fact is that there is so much going on in the platform. It becomes hard to track everything that is being posted or shared.

Besides the pornographic content, Grindr bans other content, which includes the following.

• Hate speech
• Threats of violence
• Spam
• Encouragement of unlawful conduct

How to report inappropriate content on Grindr?

This is how you can report an incident of toxic content on Grindr if you get one:

1. Find what was offensive. This could be a profile, message, or image.
2. Click on the “Report” link that is close to the picture of the user who posted something or at the post.
3. Select the best reason for submitting the content from the options like “Pornographic,” “Hate speech,” or any other.
4. It is pretty common to request some additional information about the specific content or the author of the post.
5. After presenting all the needed information, complete and send the report.

The moderation team at Grindr will then consider the received report and respond appropriately. This could be deleting the content, banning the user, or simply sending a warning.

How to block kids from apps like Grindr and porn content?

The following are good parental controls and measures for blocking Grindr and similar apps. 

Method 1: Screen Time settings on iPhone

Screen Time is one of the most effective tools for controlling your child’s iPhone and other iOS device usage. It helps you restrict kids’ app usage, censor them, and even prohibit specific applications. Here’s how to set it up:

1. Get to the iPhone Settings >  Screen Time.
2. If it is not currently active, flick the switch alongside it to “On” to activate the Screen Time.

3. Press “This is My Child’s iPhone” and put in a Screen Time passcode.
4. Choose “Content & Privacy Restrictions” > Toggle on “Content Restrictions.”

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5. Go down to the “App Categorie” section, then select “Explicit Content.” Turn it “Off” if you want to exclude apps such as Grindr.
6. Under “Web Content,” go to “Limit Adult Websites” and choose “Always.”

7. Return to the screen time settings and tap “App Limit.” This enables you to set daily usage quotas under certain categories of applications or block particular applications.

Method 2: Google Play Store parental controls on Android

Google Play Store provides parental control options that will assist in limiting the apps that can be downloaded and bought by children. Here’s how to set them up.

1. On your Android OS, click the icon of the Google Play Store app.
2. Press the icon with your avatar in the top right corner and choose “Settings.”

3. In the option “Family,” click on “Parental Controls.”
4. Switch the Parental Controls to “On.”
5. Set up a 4-digit PIN for your device’s parental control options.

6. Find “Apps & games” and select the right age rating for your content.
7. There, you can also optionally set some content restrictions for movies, television shows, books, and music.

Method 3: FlashGet Kids safeguards your kids online 

FlashGet Kids is a parental control app that can help you protect your kids online with its useful features. 

From screen time limits to content filtering and live monitoring, there are so many features to help you protect your kids from online dangers.

To install FlashGet Kids, follow these steps:

1. Download the FlashGet Kids app for parents onto your phone from the Google Play Store, Apple App Store, or the website.
2. Next, register a FlashGet account to begin using the app.
3. Download the kid’s version of the app online onto the kid’s phone from this link flashget.kids.

4. Next, you should key in a 9-digit code you got from your phone screen onto the child’s app to bind both devices.

5. In the parent’s app, select your child’s profile and choose appropriate features to help safeguard your kid from online dangers. These are as follows:

• The App Blocker feature enables you to block certain apps or limit the amount of time your kid can use them on a daily basis.
• The Screen Time Limits feature allows you to set the app’s use duration, either for a single day or for a week.
• Location Tracking lets you monitor your child’s physical location in real-time. You can also get their location history for the past 15 days.
• Screen mirroring enables you to see messages, searches, and social media usage by your child in real-time.
• The keyword detection feature alerts you when your kid uses specific keywords on social media or searches online. 

6. After choosing the appropriate feature, follow the prompts to apply it to your child’s device.

With FlashGet Kids, you have better control over your child and keep them safe from dangerous sites such as Grindr.

Final words

The availability of Grindr porn and the fact that minors may easily access the app mean that parents need to be much more attentive today. As much as Grindr is meant for adult users, some of the content in Grindr is detrimental to minors. 

Thankfully, parental control apps such as FlashGet Kids can help protect children from such inappropriate content online. It has numerous features, including live monitoring and keyword detection, that can effectively keep your kid safe online.  

Nevertheless, technical measures are not enough to keep your kid safe from dangerous apps like Grindr. You can dialogue with them regarding these issues and hope they will avoid such sites to protect their mental health.