Dating app Grindr removes ‘ethnicity filter’ allowing users to search for potential partners by race

Dating app Grindr removes ‘ethnicity filter’ that allows users to search for potential partners by race after getting roasted online for its tweet in support of ‘Black Lives Matter’

  • Singletons can pay £12.99-a-month in order to access the ethnicity filter
  • But Grindr has said it will now remove the feature in the next version of the app
  • Comes after app was forced to delete a post after it faced heavy criticism 

Dating app Grindr has said it will remove its ‘ethnicity filter’ that allows users to search potential matches by race.

Singletons prepared to pay £12.99-a-month for the ‘premium’ service are currently able to sort users based on their ethnicity, weight, height, and other characteristics.

But less than 24 hours after its tweet supporting ‘Black Lives Matter’ received widespread condemnation over the filter, the company has said it will delete it. 

Protests have rocked the US for six days following the death of George Floyd, who was filmed gasping ‘I can’t breathe’ as an officer knelt on his neck in Logan County, West Virginia. 

Grindr announced the features removal in this post on Twitter yesterday

It came less than  24 hours after the dating app was forced to delete a tweet supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after it received widespread condemnation for the feature

It came less than  24 hours after the dating app was forced to delete a tweet supporting the Black Lives Matter movement after it received widespread condemnation for the feature

Writing on Twitter, the app said: ‘As part of our commitment to (Black Lives Matter), we have decided to remove the ethnicity filter from our next release.

‘We stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter movement and the hundreds of thousands of queer people of colour who log in to our app every day.

‘We will not be silent, and we will not be inactive.

‘We will continue to fight racism on Grindr, both through dialogue with our community and a zero-tolerance policy for racism and hate speech on our platform.’

The dating app also said it would make a donation of an undisclosed sum to Black Lives Matter and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute, set up in memory of the activist and self-identified drag queen who was a prominent figure during the 1969 Stonewall uprising. 

It announced the move after deleting its post, ‘demand justice. #BlackLivesMatter.’, which had sparked a barrage of criticism.

One Twitter user received more than 6,300 likes and 1,100 re-tweets when they responded saying: ‘Remove the ethnicity filter.’

Grindr has also made a donation to Black Lives Matter and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute

Grindr has also made a donation to Black Lives Matter and the Marsha P. Johnson Institute

NEW YORK: The US has been rocked by six days of protests. Pictured above are looters smashing store windows on May 31

NEW YORK: The US has been rocked by six days of protests. Pictured above are looters smashing store windows on May 31

WASHINGTON DC: The protesters held their ground as police launched tear gas

WASHINGTON DC: The protesters held their ground as police launched tear gas

Critics had previously slammed the dating app for having the filter, and had urged them to delete it.

But in an interview with Buzzfeed in 2016, co-creator Eric Silverberg defended it.

‘A person’s choice of partner is deeply personal, and I don’t think we would presume to judge or tilt one’s choice of sexual partner, boyfriend or husband,’ he said.

‘Ultimately each one of our own individual choices is profoundly informed by the community we grow up in, perhaps by the relationships we had with our siblings or parents.

‘I mean, to try and unpack that would probably take years for each person and so, I don’t know… I give wide latitude to other people when they talk about the kind of people they’re into.’

Thousands of protesters were arrested across the country over the weekend as major cities are the most affected areas of rioting, looting and arson

Thousands of protesters were arrested across the country over the weekend as major cities are the most affected areas of rioting, looting and arson

CICERO, ILLINOIS: Two people were fatally shot in the Chicago suburb of Cicero on Monday

CICERO, ILLINOIS: Two people were fatally shot in the Chicago suburb of Cicero on Monday

LOUISVILLE: Kentucky State Troopers detain a man during protests against police brutality

LOUISVILLE: Kentucky State Troopers detain a man during protests against police brutality

The US has been rocked by six days of protest over Mr Floyd’s death, with thousands of demonstrators marching in Las Vegas, Seattle, Dallas, Atlanta, New York and other major cities.

Law enforcement has used rubber bullets, tear gas and officers on horseback yesterday to clear a path for President Donald Trump to walk from the White House to St John’s church.

Coroners in Hennepin County ruled yesterday that Mr Floyd’s death was a homicide by asphyxiation.