Is Grindr about to introduce a HIV filter?
Hookup app, Grindr, may be about to introduce a HIV filter, it has been claimed.
According to New Now Next, an academic from the University of Montreal and a HIV positive blogger have both claimed to be presented with a survey that asks if they would like to filter their results by HIV status.
David Myles from the University posted screenshots of the survey that asked questions such as, “what is your current HIV status?” and “How would you feel if Grindr allowed you to filter the guys you see by HIV status?”
Josh Robbins, a blogger who is HIV positive, claimed he received the same survey when logged in too.
Grindr has yet to confirm if it’s introducing the filter, but some have already condemned the move as stigmatising people with HIv in the community.
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Daniel Reeders, who writes for the blog, Bad Blood, said that the idea shouldn’t be rolled out to users.
He said: “Would the HIV filter [make positive members] invisible to others whose HIV status didn’t match their preferences…like an automatic block function?
“If it did, and enough HIV-negative people used it, it really would constitute a form of digital quarantine that leaves people with HIV outcast and invisible.
“We should not be reinforcing categories that are used in less effective strategies for prevention.”
