How to unblock Grindr

Tinder may be have earned a lot of popularity thanks to its geo-social features, but the app that really deserves recognition for bringing up this feature is Grindr. This innovative app launched in 2009, changed the way in which people meet online. Grindr is an app focused on helping gay, bisexual, trans and queer people to meet potential partners in their area. Grindr offers a convenient way to find a date in your location and it has millions of users around the world. The problem is that Grindr is blocked in many countries, where being a member of the LGBT+ community is still illegal. Even in countries where being gay is not considered as a crime, there are risks that you could face if you use an app like Grindr. It is important to keep your privacy protected at all times, but it becomes crucial if you live under an oppressive regime.

How can you access Grindr without compromising your privacy?

Let’s start by saying that if you are facing blocks when you try to access Grindr, there is a way to defeat them. You may be in a country that imposes online censorship

or where there are laws against gay people. In some cases, it is simply that your network places filters that prevent access to dating apps in general.

This may happen in work or school networks. Regardless of the reason why Grindr is blocked in your location, the good news is that you can use a VPN service to get access to the app. Using a VPN allows you to get around restrictions by masking your IP address. You can get an IP address from a different country, which allows you to bypass the restrictions in your location. By changing your IP address, VPN also offers you anonymity as others won’t see your real IP and won’t be able to trace you.

We recommend NordVPN as the best VPN for this purpose as it is 100% annonymous, super cheap, keeps no-logs of your interenet usage, and has a 30-day money-back guarantee.

It is not just about unblocking Grindr, security is crucial

Changing your IP address will allow you to get access to Grindr and other apps or websites that may be blocked in your country. If you have Grindr already installed on your device, but travel to a country in which access to the app is restricted, a VPN will allow you to overcome this.

If you want to download the app, you can try APK Pure: https://apkpure.com/grindr-gay-chat/com.grindrapp.android option, use a VPN and also spoof your location to access Google Play Store, App Store outside your region. However, unblocking Grindr is not the only reason why you need to consider a VPN. If you live in a country where Grindr is blocked due to the prosecution that gay, bi, trans and queer people face, you also need to pay special attention to your safety while using the app.

Consider this: Grindr can be used by others to trace your location, through a technique known as triangulation. According to some reports, Grinder has been used in countries like Egypt, to identify and monitor gay men, who later have been arrested and imprisoned, simply for using the app. While you can disable location-based sharing in Grindr, this option is only available in the app’s user interface. It is likely that the user’s location is still sent to Grindr’s servers, meaning that third-parties may be able to access the information via a direct query. While Grindr has disabled location tracking by default in countries like Russia, Egypt and Russia, there are still concerns about the risks that the LGBT+ community faces while using the app in these locations.

In order to keep your privacy protected and use Grindr safely, we recommend to use a VPN service that provides a high level of encryption. As previously mentioned, using a VPN masks your IP address, which means that others won’t be able to see your real location. Apart from changing your IP address, a VPN also encrypts your internet traffic, preventing your ISP, the government and other parties from tracking you and seeing what content you access when you are online. Since a VPN lets you connect to servers in other countries, it is an effective solution to bypass restrictions and enjoy access to websites and apps that are not available in your location. Keep in mind that you need to combine a VPN with a geo-spoof app to defeat the blocks and get the most out of Grindr, no matter where you are.

Steps to unblock Grindr using a VPN

Select a VPN service and sign up for it. Check our list of recommended options below to get the highest level of security and enjoy Grindr without compromising your privacy.
Once you have set up a subscription, download the VPN app and install it on your device.
Launch the app and select the location you want to connect to. Make sure that you select a country where Grindr is not blocked.
Once the connection is established, you will get an IP address from that location and will be able to access Grindr. To spoof your location, you can use free apps like Fake GPS.

Best VPN to unblock Grindr

NordVPN

NordVPN is a zero logs provider, meaning that it doesn’t keep records of anything you do while using the service. NordVPN has servers in over 50 countries and it offers strong security.

It also lets you bypass restrictions anywhere you are. If Grindr is not avalable in your country or if your network admin has implemented restrictions, you can connect to a NordVPN server and defeat the blocks.

Read our full NordVPN review here.

ExpressVPN

ExpressVPN is a trusted provider in the VPN industry and it offers a high level of security, as well as strong commitment to privacy. ExpressVPN has servers in over 90 countries and it uses top encryption to protect your internet traffic. In addition, ExpressVPN offers fantastic speeds that allow you to bypass restrictions and enjoy access to the content that you want. No logs of your online activities are kept.

Read our full ExpressVPN review here.

IPVanish

IPVanish is another zero logs provider and it delivers great speeds and high quality software. Since it manages its own network of servers, it can offer great speeds, as well as consistent and reliable performance. You will be able to connect to servers in over 60 countries and you can expect a fast and secure service to defeat restrictions. The speeds, security and advanced technology that IPVanish offers, allow you to enjoy Grindr safely and anonymously.

Read our full IPVanish review here.

CyberGhost VPN

CyberGhost is a VPN with a strong commitment to privacy and security. It is designed to prevent that your IP address and location are exposed and it protects you from DNS leaks, IPv6 leaks and the WebRTC issue that could also leak your real IP address. CyberGhost used a high level of security, CyberGhost VPN gives you access to servers in over 60 countries and it offers great speeds. No logs are kept so you will be able to use Grindr without issues.

Read our full CyberGhost review here.

2 Comments

User February 24, 2020
This information is out of date. At least since 2018, Grindr has blocked the use of a false location on systems (Android from version 9), which provide the app with information about the app used to mock the location. In addition, Grindr blocks most features, i.e. the ability to see photos, visiting profiles, if it detects a VPN connection through a server in the US or Europe. Interestingly, it ignores the VPN connection from Japan.
- User February 24, 2020
  …maybe it is important that Grindr was sold to the Chinese some time ago.