UK sexual health experts blame Grindr for increase in STDs

Dating apps such as Grindr are being blamed for the rise in STDs in the UK.

Sexual health experts claim ‘hook-up’ apps are the reason why the rates of sexually transmitted diseases are rising.

Gonorrhoea cases in England jumped 15% between 2012 and 2013, according to new official figures, from 25,577 to 29,291. Syphilis cases went up 9%, from 2,981 to 3,249.

Peter Greenhouse, of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV, said: ‘You don’t have to be a genius to work out that these sorts of apps make having casual sex a damn sight easier.

‘You can find, down to a metre or two, the nearest available person who is interested. This is something that just hasn’t been available before.’

‘Thanks to Grindr or Tinder, you can acquire chlamydia in five minutes.’

As a policy, Grindr bans users from mentioning they are looking for unprotected intimate activity, and will remove profiles of those who violate that regulation.

Grindr spokesman Justin Howard also says they try to promote safe sex in messages that appear when users log in, and occasionally list nearby clinics where users can get tested.

He says: ‘We try to educate and inform in a fun and engaging way.

‘We try to spell it out as plain as we can to encourage safe behavior, and they can choose to read more or close it.’