By DNB Editors.
This article draws on aggregated public data, user reports, and anonymised trend summaries. No individual user information is included.
Grindr is more than just a hookup app—it’s a cultural snapshot of queer life. The platform’s 2025 Unwrapped report, released this week, reveals two powerful trends currently shaping user behaviour: the search for identity and connection, and the urgent need for safety and privacy in climates where queer people still face significant digital and offline risks.
Below is a clear breakdown of the top trends and what they mean for users—especially those navigating queer life in restrictive regions.
Key Takeaways for 2025
User searches cluster around sexual roles, profile visibility (getting more matches), privacy risks, racism, tech reliability, emotional connection, and safety threats.
Specifically, the threat of “kito”—blackmail and extortion scams common in Nigeria and other parts of Africa—remains a critical driver of Grindr-based search traffic.
1. Sexual Roles and Profile Visibility Strategies Dominate
Searches for “top,” “bottom,” and “versatile” continue to dominate globally. According to Grindr Unwrapped 2025, specific preferences have solidified across the globe:
- “Hung” was the #1 most searched profile tag globally (Grindr, 2025)5.
- The US leads the world in the percentage of users identifying as “Daddies.”
- Vietnam has the biggest shortage of tops.
- India leads in the fastest replier category.
- Switzerland has the highest concentration of “Twinks,” while Italy ranks first for users interested in feet. 🦶
According to Grindr, “Hung” has held the top spot as the most searched tag every year from 2017 up to the most recent report for 2025, except for 2021 when “Vaccinated” temporarily became the most searched overall tag due to COVID-related interest.
Profile Micro-Branding Through Tags
Grindr reports show users rely heavily on profile tags—trans, dom, BB, gym, discreet—as forms of micro-branding to attract and filter matches by signalling their identity, preferences, and boundaries (Grindr, 2024)4.
Helpful Tip: For increased efficiency, pick one honest tag and write a short sentence in your profile that says what you want and what you won’t accept.
👓
Example templates:
- “Versatile. Looking for dates, public meetups only.”
- “Masc; friends or more. Video first, meet only in public.”
- “Trans. No hookups — coffee or daytime walks.”
2. Fear of Location and Data Exposure Remain
The primary concerns behind Grindr-related searches revolve around privacy risks. Grindr’s proximity-based design remains useful—but dangerously revealing.
Trilateration is a Documented Threat
Security researchers proved over a decade ago that Grindr’s location API can be used for trilateration, allowing attackers to pinpoint a user’s exact location using distance data (Dhondt et al., 2024)3.
Trilateration is a method used to determine the location of a point by measuring its distance from three or more known points.
This capability remains a top concern in:
- Countries with anti-queer laws
- Regions with police surveillance
- Areas with high rates of extortion or entrapment (such as Nigeria’s kito situation)
Top search terms in 2025 include:
- Hide distance on Grindr
- GPS spoofing
- VPN for Grindr
Trilateration carries a major risk in hostile regions like Nigeria or Uganda, as it can be used by state actors and gangs to locate and exploit queer men (Access Now, 2024)1.
In safer regions, the threat usually shifts to personal social surveillance, where users weaponise distance metrics to expose cheating partners, stalk exes, or monitor private residences.
Safety Tip: Disable “Show Distance” in settings or use a “spoofing app” to hide your real location. This is exceptionally important for users in hostile environments like Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, or South Africa.
3. Survival: Kito Scams, Entrapment, and Real Harm
While the official “Unwrapped” report highlights fun stats like the top “Gaycation” destination (London took the top spot in 2025), search data from African regions tells a different story. Safety-related searches—especially those linked to kito-style scams—are among the highest volume queries.
What is Kito?
“Kito” refers to the luring, blackmailing, or violent assault of queer people after being contacted on dating apps. Reports from Nigeria and neighbouring countries show patterns of robbery, extortion, and coerced outing.
- Nigeria: Victims face theft, physical assault and the threat of being outed to police or family.
- South Africa: Dating apps have been used to lure victims for robbery and rape (Chigozirim, 2024)2.
While Grindr publishes scam awareness guides, it is local queer groups—NGOs, crisis centres, informal networks—who are driving region-specific safety education. These localised efforts are crucial because kito tactics evolve quickly and differ by region.
4. Tech Friction and Exclusion
Beyond safety, everyday frustrations also dominate searches.
a. Technical Issues:
Users frequently search for:
- Grindr alternatives
- App not loading
- Low-data mode dating apps
These search terms reflect complaints about bugs, rising subscription prices, and feature restrictions (Roskin, 2024)6.
b. Racism & Bias:
Despite the removal of the ethnicity filter in previous years, racialised exclusion remains a major pain point. Searches regarding racism on Grindr and code words reflect ongoing inequality in the app’s social ecology (Zhou, 2022)7.
Summary: What 2025 Reveals About Queer Life
| Theme | User Need |
| Connection vs Caution | A balanced desire for romance/sex with privacy and personal safety. |
| Identity Work | Clear words and cues to explore and claim sexual identity in stigmatised settings. |
| Visibility Economy | Effective tags (“Hung,” “Side,” “Discreet”) to increase matches and validation. |
| Safety | Practical guidance to avoid “kito” scams, geolocation risks, and unsafe meetups. |
| Platform Limits | Meaningful safety improvements require platform policy, engineering, and community collaboration. |
Final Takeaway: Desire Meets Precaution
The 2025 Grindr search trends show a clear duality:
- Sexual identity exploration (tops, bottoms, tags)
- Safety survival strategies (VPNs, scam alerts, kito).
For many queer people—especially across Africa and other high-risk regions—Grindr is both a gateway to community and a potential threat vector.
Recommendation:
- Platform owners must implement stronger privacy-by-default features.
- Local queer communities need continued support for digital safety education.
- Users should prioritise consent, privacy awareness, and recognition of red flags.
📚 References
- Access Now. (2024). Digital safety guide for LGBTQ+ activists in Africa. https://www.accessnow.org/guide/africa-digital-safety-guide/
- Chigozirim, N. (2024, April 29). “I had been set up”: LGBTQ+ Nigerians battle dating app traps. TimesLIVE. https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/africa/2024-04-29-i-had-been-set-up-lgbtq-nigerians-battle-dating-app-traps/
- Dhondt, K., Le Pochat, V., Dimova, Y., Joosen, W., Volckaert, S., Leuven, K., Le, V., Yana, P., Wouter, D., Stijn, J., & Distrinet, V. (2024). Swipe Left for Identity Theft: An Analysis of User Data Privacy Risks on Location-based Dating Apps https://www.usenix.org/system/files/usenixsecurity24-dhondt.pdf
- Grindr. (2024). Grindr Unwrapped 2024: You voted, we unwrapped. https://www.grindr.com/blog/grindr-unwrapped-2024-you-voted-we-unwrapped
- Grindr. (2025). Grindr Unwrapped 2025. https://www.grindr.com/unwrapped
- Roskin, D. (2024, October 3). Grindr complaints are rising. Gay dating apps like SCRUFF are swooping in. Mashable. https://mashable.com/article/as-grindr-complaints-rise-gay-dating-apps-scruff-jackd-taimi-swoop-in
- Zhou, Z. B. (2022). Compulsory interracial intimacy: Why does removing the ethnicity filter on dating apps not benefit racial minority groups? Media, Culture & Society, 44(5), 1034–1043. https://doi.org/10.1177/01634437221104712
