The best gay dating apps for hookups and more in 2025

Grindr isn’t just a popular gay dating app for hookups and casual encounters. It’s the king of gay dating apps, and it’s become a big part of modern gay culture. It’s mostly for gay men who are looking to get laid now, and it has a massive user base.

Although bi, trans, and queer people are welcome on the app, the majority of users are gay men.

Grindr is the gay dating app for men, but the company also advocates for the LGBTQ+ community as a whole through efforts like The Grindr for Equality campaign, which advocates for the sexual health and safety of LGBTQ+ people in unsafe countries.

That’s not the only thing the app’s doing on the user front, though. Within the past two months, the company added two new features: “Taken on Grindr,” an optional watermark timestamp for photos snapped in the app (presumably to vouch for their realness and recency), and “Profile Hide,” which lets you make your profile invisible to specific users before chatting — handy for dodging that coworker or ex you spot on the grid.

Grindr is also taking steps to improve user safety and privacy with its newly launched Safety & Privacy Center. This in-app hub gives users more control over their data, offering clear explanations of privacy settings and easy access to resources, including LGBTQ+-specific guidance.

In terms of usability, Grindr still isn’t swipe-based like some other hookup apps. Instead, you’ll see that signature location-based grid — a collage of guys who are close to your location. As soon as you hop on the app, you’ll see tons of men waiting to talk — for starters. They’ve also rolled out “Right Now” in major cities (like NYC, LA, and London as of early 2025), a separate feed where posts about wanting to meet up immediately expire after an hour, leaning into the app’s fast-paced reputation. But it’s true: Grindr has been having some issues lately. Users are complaining about bugs (apparently due to some recent updates gone wrong) and new paywalls blocking features like “taps.” It kinda feels like they’re choosing money over keeping users happy, which is a total bummer.

Do note that Grindr lacks the boundaries other apps provide — most users are just looking to hook up and will let you know they’re not in it for small talk. (That warning may come in the form of a dick pic and not in as many words.) Some of the app’s users have a reputation of not being so welcoming to bisexual users, and it isn’t exactly known for being free from racism, either.

That’s not to say you can’t find a lasting relationship on Grindr — a lot of men do meet their forever person on Grindr — but on the surface, it’s a tool for a quick, casual hookup. FWIW, men in small towns with a meager queer population are more likely to find a connection here than on Tinder or OkCupid.