Technology

Someone on Grindr presented themselves as an employee that could remove blocks on the platform. That’s probably not the case, but the activity still hints at a moderation problem.

An account on Grindr called “GiantCockNYC” is constantly reappearing in users’ messages despite being blocked, with the account owner claiming they are an employee for the hookup app who is able to repeatedly remove the blocks.

“Everyday I block this account. Wtf,” a Grindr user who goes by the pseudonym ML on Twitter wrote in a message to GiantCockNYC, according to a screenshot of the conversation. ML tweeted a cropped screenshot of the conversation on Tuesday, and shared the full screenshot with 404 Media.

“I work for the app lol I view who blocks and I remove it lmao,” GiantCockNYC replied. Tech companies often have problems with malicious insiders, with some using access to stalk love interests, or otherwise inappropriately interact with user data.

But Grindr itself says that isn’t the case here. A spokesperson said in an email that “The person created multiple profiles, deleted, then created another—with the same name/photos to make it appear as though blocks weren't working.” In other words, after being blocked, GiantCockNYC deleted their account and then quickly made another with the same username to make it appear they had magically bypassed users’ blocks. And the effect, in a way, was similar—they continued to message target accounts, albeit presumably without any prior message history or account activity because it had been deleted. The Grindr spokesperson added “This was not a Grindr employee.”

The bizarre behavior from the person behind GiantCockNYC hints at an important moderation issue—the apparent ability for users on Grindr to rapidly delete and create new accounts with the same name, despite them doing this for the explicit and malicious purpose of circumventing users’ blocks.

read more: https://www.404media.co/the-truth-behind-giantcocknyc-grindr-block-accounts/

archive link: https://archive.ph/FLNrA