Ep. 209: Grindr + Republicans, Sniffies + Tinder Money & the Death of Gay Apps

Check out Alex's stories on Queerty: https://www.queerty.com/author/alex-reimer/ Grindr takes D.C.: The gayest party in Tr*mp’s Washington was also the strangest: https://www.queerty.com/grindr-takes-d-c-the-gayest-party-in-trmps-washington-was-also-the-strangest-20260428/ Sniffies users are not OK after learning their glory hole was just infiltrated: https://www.queerty.com/users-are-not-ok-after-learning-their-glory-hole-is-getting-a-venture-capital-makeover-20260428/   Journalist and Queerty contributor Alex Reimer is back, and he brought the receipts. This week we're breaking down two stories that have the gay internet buzzing — and they both point to the same uncomfortable truth: the apps and spaces we thought were ours are quietly being handed over to the highest bidder. First up: The Grindr DC Party Grindr sponsored a party during the White House Correspondents' Dinner weekend — and the crowd was overwhelmingly straight, Republican, and very much not who you'd picture at a Grindr event. We break down why Grindr has a former GOP operative as their top lobbyist, what their conservative CEO is really after in Tr&mp's Washington, and what their HIV prevention deals, age verification lobbying, and AI agenda actually tell us about where this company is headed. Plus: did Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska really show up? She did. And Lindsey Graham? Well… Then: Sniffies gets a $100 million investment from Match Group The map-based gay sex app that became a cult phenomenon — explicit, anonymous, no face pics required — just took a $100 million investment from the same company that owns Tinder and Hinge. The community is not happy. We talk about what Match Group really wants, whether Sniffies will get cleaned up and pushed back into the App Store, and why this feels like the beginning of the end for the last truly subversive gay app. We also get into: Why gay bars keep emptying out — and whether Sniffies and Grindr are to blame The broader collapse of corporate LGBTQ+ support ahead of Pride DEI programs and what they were really covering for The app economy that's made life more expensive and less human for everyone HRC geofencing ads against the Republicans at the Grindr party (love to see it) Podcast song by SIXFOOT 5: https://www.sixfoot5prod.com Apple: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/sixfoot-5/1551774977 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/5rHMzoU0G0fLhaBsrQiOOY?si=laSZ5hiKTYubJJyhrzf2JQ Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.