Grindr pledges to connect 10M people to HIV prevention services by 2028
It comes as a new report has revealed a significant gap between awareness and access to PrEP across the world
A new report has revealed a significant gap between awareness and access to PrEP across the world.
While knowledge about the preventative HIV medication is widespread, it's been revealed how individuals are struggling to gain access to it due to shrinking global funding.
Grindr is now responding the the challenge, pledging to link ten million LGBTQ+ individuals to HIV prevention services by 2028.
The announcement was made at the 2026 International AIDS Conference last month in Rio de Janeiro, where Grindr for Equality outlined its ambitious plan to support the global initiative to eradicate HIV by 2030.
Global Efforts to Tackle HIV
Grindr's commitment is based on findings from its "Closing the Gap" report, which utilised survey data from users across ten countries.
The research indicated that although awareness of PrEP is high, actual intake remains low due to access barriers and declining funding.
George Arison, CEO and Chairman of Grindr, emphasised the importance of leveraging Grindr's extensive reach to connect underserved communities.
He highlighted the reduction of critical funding for HIV responses at a crucial juncture in the effort to end HIV globally.
Fifteen million people use Grindr each month across 190 countries.
In many of these regions, the platform is a key source for sexual health information.
The Grindr app will now provide users with direct in-app access to information and referrals for HIV prevention services, including testing, PrEP, doxyPEP, and other emerging tools, supported by local organisations and clinics.
Decade of Commitment
Grindr for Equality has spent a decade building the necessary infrastructure to support this initiative.
In 2025 alone, the organisation ran over 1,200 in-app campaigns across 185 community organisations in 71 countries using 40 languages.
Since 2022, more than 600,000 HIV self-tests have been distributed through the app.
The new commitment builds on these foundations, aiming to make Grindr an accessible starting point for those seeking sexual health services.
The initiative is backed by numerous entities, including amfAR, International AIDS Society, HIV Justice Network, and ViiV Healthcare.
"Our app is in more than 190 countries, but in 60 of them, it's still illegal to be gay"
Joe Hack, Head of Global Government Affairs at Grindr, caught-up with Hits Radio Pride about their latest announcement, having just stepped off the plane from Rio.
He said: "Over the last few years, we've seen a lot of governments step away from the commitment to end HIV by 2030, and so it's important for others to step up, and fill the gap - which is what Grindr has been doing.
"We've been in the HIV fight almost since the company's been born - it's a disease that disproportionately impacts our community directly, and so Grindr for Equality, we engage with public efforts all around the world, to educate people and connect them with health resources.
"Our app exists in more than 190 countries, but in 60 of them, it's still illegal to be a gay person.
"So that creates some challenging environments in which we operate, but what we've learned is that Grindr serves as a lifeline, and the only real source of community of other people like them.
"It's also one of the only places where there's access to sexual health resources, or legal aid for people facing persecution.
"There's certainly no shortage of challenges all around the world, and our leadership team is committed to the work we do to overcome these - and this includes with our commitment to connect 10 million people to HIV prevention in the next two years.
"Our 'secret sauce' is the connectivity and the unparcelled reach into the LGBT+ community, and that's a responsibility we take seriously as the largest gay company on the planet."
Getting the messaging right
As their initiative establishes itself, one thing the company is doing is working with local partners to understand the individual challenges faced by these countries.
"One of things Grindr for Equality does really well is that we're not all just sat in a bunch of offices telling people what to do," Joe told Hits Radio Pride.
"We're trying to understand from the perspective of different communities and different countries what the challenges are and what we can do to be helpful.
"That also comes to play in terms of how we message things, and how we communicate.
"Different social and cultural groups may respond differently to different messaging.
"For instance, in some countries, we might lean into sexy branding, but in others, that might undermine the credibility of public health messaging, and we might want to present it in a more straightforward way.
"So, we're in active conversation with our community partners to understand that, and to present information that will resonate and have the most impact.
"That's one of the things I'm quite proud of, is the breadth of relationships we have, with more than 400 global partners.
"Considering we're a team of less than a handful, to be able to maintain those relationships and put out impactful messaging in 71 different languages, I think, is pretty remarkable.
"Just in 2024, what we've made has reached 130 million impressions, which is pretty amazing."
Grindr's Global Reach
Grindr, which calls itself the "Global Gayborhood in Your Pocket," has become crucial for its 15 million monthly users in 190 countries to connect and express themselves.
Since 2015, Grindr for Equality has partnered with organisations worldwide to promote human rights and improve health and safety for LGBTQ+ individuals.
There's more details about GfE on their website.
There's access to help and support with HIV on the Terrence Higgins Trust website.