On a cold July morning in Canberra, a man rode his motorbike to meet a person he’d been chatting to on the hookup app Grindr – only to find four men who then allegedly assaulted him.
A month later, Queensland police alleged six people were robbed after being lured to meetings by someone using a fake profile on the app in Brisbane’s south.
Similar alleged attacks on men, who had agreed to meetings via apps such as Grindr, have also occurred in other states in recent months.
The spate of more than a dozen, separate cases across Australia since July has sparked concern among the LGBTQ+ community. In some cases – but not all – police have alleged homophobic comments were made, and several of the incidents were filmed.
Separately, there is growing concern in the community about online influencers. Jeremy Oliver, Victoria police’s LGBTQ+ portfolio manager, tells Guardian Australia that some anti-LGBTQ+ influencers are promoting “methods of attacks or recordings that people do of attacking queer people”.
“I don’t know too much, but I imagine that’s where they’re getting this information, and the methods of how to do it, and where to upload it, and doing it through Grindr for a particular reason,” Oliver says.
“We have seen that rise in anti-LGBTIQ+ community sentiment over the last couple of years, so I believe it’s emerged from that, but also because there’s these influencers that are promoting these attacks and methods online globally as well.”
He says it isn’t isolated to Australia.
“It’s all connected through social media and apps,” he says.
Victoria police, noticing incidents arising across the state as well as the rest of the country, alerted other agencies at a bimonthly meeting of police agencies across Australia and New Zealand earlier this year, “to make sure that we’re all across the same information and incident numbers and responses to what’s been occurring,” Oliver says.
‘Insidious’ incidents
After the Canberra attack was reported to police, it was later determined it was one of three similar alleged attacks in the Australian Capital Territory over the course of several days.
A second man was attacked at 2.30am the following Saturday by up to eight men in Red Hill, who allegedly assaulted him and shouted homophobic slurs while demanding money and attempted to take his keys and wallet.
A third man was allegedly attacked nearly an hour and a half later, by up to eight people wearing face coverings.
ACT police believe the three incidents could be connected.
Earlier this month, it said five search warrants were executed at residences in the ACT and New South Wales, with electronic devices seized and youths spoken to. No arrests have been made, and the investigation is ongoing.
In Western Australia, four teenagers were charged after two alleged assaults arranged via a dating app, where the victims were allegedly assaulted and then subjected to homophobic slurs, in incidents the state’s premier, Roger Cook, labelled “insidious”.
Two teens were also jailed last December after a series of attacks on victims organised on Grindr in NSW in late 2022.
Victoria-based sexual health organisation Thorne Harbour Health (THH) last month issued a warning to gay and bisexual men to exercise caution when using apps such as Grindr, Scruff and Snapchat to meet.
It came after what police allege were incidents of several groups of offenders posing as legitimate users of LGBTQ+ dating apps to lure men into meeting them.
A spokesperson for Grindr says bad actors may attempt to misuse its services and put users at risk, similar to any service, but the company works hard to ensure “a safe and authentic environment free of harmful and fake accounts.”
The company says where there are periods of increased threats to users, it partners with local law enforcement, government agencies, and LGBTQ+ organisations for the in-app alerts users are shown.
“In addition, Grindr responds to and cooperates with law enforcement to aid in their investigations of incidents,” the spokesperson says.
Identifying bad actors
Dating apps for gay and bisexual men are used for anything from making new friends to anonymous hookups and dating. While some get to know the person they’re planning on meeting well in advance, it is frequently the practice to organise to meet up quickly, with sometimes very little information on the other person.
This quasi-anonymity often sought out on the apps makes it more complicated to identify bad actors.
THH’s community engagement manager, Caleb Hawk, tells Guardian Australia it is incredibly challenging to identify fake profiles, given the varying levels of anonymity users require, but apps should be doing more to find such accounts.
“That being said, one of the challenges we’re seeing from this series of attacks is that alleged offenders are frequently moving the conversation off the hookup apps and on to other messaging apps like Snapchat that may not be as vigilant about user protections when it comes to features like location sharing,” he says.
When a user opens Grindr in Australia now, they’re occasionally greeted with a pop-up advising them to be cautious when meeting from the app, and Hawk says the apps should alert people about the risks involved.
Hawk says people could also take more steps to verify the identity of someone before arranging to meet to better protect themselves, and being mindful of what information they’re sharing on themselves.
THH has also suggested turning off location sharing on Snapchat, and urges people to report any alleged attacks to police. It said people can also minimise risk by meeting in a public place like a bar, restaurant, or sex-on-premises venue, as well as using features such as “Find My” on iPhone to share location with a trusted friend when arranging to meet someone.
Oliver says Grindr has been responsive to requests made by Victoria police, and helpful with the messaging sent to users.
A new industry code targeting safety on dating apps, including Grindr, will come into force in April next year. The eSafety commissioner this month advised the government it was fit for purpose and the companies have six months to implement changes.
The code will require the apps to detect potential incidents of harm, take action against users for violating policies, have transparent complaint and reporting mechanisms, and provide transparency reports on the number of accounts terminated and content moderation processes.
The apps will also need to have proactive engagement with law enforcement including escalation of complaints where there is an imminent threat to safety.
• This headline was amended on 19 October to correct an error
