Grindr beefs up safety features for 2026 Winter Olympics

The 2026 Winter Olympics begin this week, and for athletes trying to have their own Heated Rivalry moment, gay hookup app Grindr is beefing up its safety features.

Grindr will be available during the Olympics, the app told Mashable, with additional safeguards in place. For example, the location-based features Explore and Roam will be disabled within the Olympic Villages to prevent people outside the venues from browsing who's on the app. Distance visibility will also be turned off by default, and users will have the option to use approximate distance. Private videos will also be disabled in official Olympics locations.

During the Olympic Games in recent years, dating app users have changed their locations in hopes of matching with athletes, so these measures make sense.

In addition to those location features, Grindr will also have unlimited disappearing messages and the ability to unsend messages available to all users. Screenshots will be disabled for profile images and photos shared in chat, which is a standard feature.

Regular in-app safety reminders will also appear on Grindr, with links to support and resources. Only public service announcements will be shown, too — no third-party ads.

"The Olympic Games bring heightened visibility, which can create real safety risks for LGBTQ+ athletes, especially those who are not out or come from countries where being LGBTQ+ is dangerous or illegal," Grindr's chief product officer, AJ Balance, stated in a press release. Grindr is restricted in several countries due to local laws.

"These temporary changes are about reducing that risk and giving users greater control of their privacy while keeping the app available."

Grindr also implemented these safety measures at the 2024 Paris Olympics and the 2022 Beijing Olympics.