Grindr Now Offers Free At-Home HIV Tests

Grindr, a popular gay hookup and dating site, has joined forces with Building Health Online Communities (BHOC) and Emory University to create an expanded program called Together TakeMeHome to make ordering at-home HIV tests free and easy.

In a blog post, Grindr said a new button will be designated on the Grindr side menu under the profile settings, where US-based users can order the at-home HIV test for free. The test enables users to take the at-home test and receive their results in less than a minute. Grindr is also collecting no data during the process.

TakeMeHome has given away around 125,000 HIV kits over the last three years and helps those who face barriers in testing in person, whether due to operating hours, costs, or concerns of privacy. Additionally, most of the tests have already gone to gay, bi, and trans people who were already using Grindr, and one-third of those test kits went to first-time testers.

The program has since gone on to receive funding from the CDC, as well as its partnership with BHOC and Emory.

The new partnership with Grindr allows users anywhere in the US or Puerto Rico to order up to two free at-home test kits every ninety days. The blog post on Grindr also says they’re looking to expand the home testing to other countries, and is hoping to send out one million kits over the next five years.

“We’re incredibly proud of this partnership, so please check out ‘Together TakeMeHome,’ know your status, tell your friends, and let’s continue to fight the epidemic together,” said Jack Harrison-Quintana, Director of Grindr of Equality.