Jordan blocked Grindr

On 8th August 2023, OONI data shows that Jordan started blocking access to Grindr — the world’s largest social networking app for gay, bi, trans, and queer people. The block, which appears to be implemented for both Grindr’s website (www.grindr.com) and app, remains ongoing.

The following chart aggregates OONI measurement coverage from the testing of www.grindr.com on 6 networks in Jordan between 1st August 2023 to 25th October 2023.

As is evident, the testing of www.grindr.com previously showed that the site was accessible in Jordan, and only started presenting signs of blocking (“anomalies”) on 8th August 2023. The timing of the anomalies coincides with the timing that Al Taj reported on the blocking of Grindr, as well as with the timing that this was reported to us by our community. The fact that most measurements thereafter continued to present anomalies provides a further signal of Grindr blocking, while suggesting that the block remains ongoing. OONI data suggests that www.grindr.com is blocked on at least 6 networks in Jordan.

OONI data also suggests that access to Grindr’s app (available through the Google and Apple app stores) is blocked by ISPs in Jordan as well. Most OONI measurements from the testing of endpoints (cdns.grindr.com and grindr.mobi) required for the functionality of the Grindr app presented anomalies from 9th August 2023 onwards, which correlates with the timing when www.grindr.com started to present anomalies. This is illustrated through the following chart, which aggregates OONI measurement coverage from the testing of Grindr endpoints in Jordan between 1st August 2023 to 25th October 2023.

Our analysis of OONI data shows that access to Grindr is blocked by means of TLS interference.

Learn more through our research report.