Partner Demands Grindr End Anonymity After Blackmail Suicide
A man has demanded that Grindr abandons its commitment to user anonymity after his partner took his own life while being targeted by suspected blackmailers on the app. Cameron Tewson has written an open letter to George Arison, the American CEO of Grindr, urging him to terminate the gay hookup app's policy of 'minimal identity verification' following the death of Scott Gough.
Tragic Events Leading to Suicide
Mr Gough, aged 56, died on March 29, 2024, the day after a gang of six men in their mid-20s aggressively knocked on the door of his home in Hertfordshire and left a threatening note on his doorstep. Addressed to 'the owner of the white Range Rover'—Mr Gough worked for a Jaguar Land Rover dealership—it read: 'I think it's in your best interest to give me a call.' His body was discovered by his partner the next day, hours after they had last seen each other, alongside a handwritten last will and testament. An inquest recorded his cause of death as asphyxiation, ruling it a suicide.
Blackmail Exploitation on Grindr
Mr Tewson, 32, believes his boyfriend had been attempting to conceal the fact he was using Grindr. The suspected blackmailers are thought to have posed as a fake user to gain his attention before exploiting the app's geolocation features to track him down. No arrests were made despite suspects being identified and spoken to during a botched investigation by Hertfordshire Police.
Mr Tewson asserts that his partner's death could have been prevented if Grindr executives insisted on verifying profiles with identification. He has written to the company to demand change today, marking the second anniversary of Mr Gough's death. Branding the app a 'vector for organised activity' that provides easy access to potential victims, he wrote: 'Following contact initiated through Grindr, he was subjected to blackmail that escalated into real-world intimidation.'
App Safety and Accountability Concerns
Grindr is popular among the gay community because it allows anonymity, does not require users to 'match' like conventional dating apps, and operates on location, enabling nearby users to find each other quickly. However, those behind the app—which generated $95 million last year—have consistently rejected calls to verify users, arguing it could potentially 'out' closeted individuals to their family and friends.
Mr Tewson contends that this does not excuse the app from doing more to protect its 900,000 monthly UK users. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he said: 'Grindr needs to be held accountable right now. There is no safety, there is no safeguarding. You can add any photo on, you can [pretend to] be anybody you want to be, and this is an ongoing problem. How are we safeguarding those using the app? Urgent action is needed to protect people.'
History of Criminal Exploitation
Grindr functions by displaying nearby users to an accuracy of 100 meters, but this has been exploited by criminals who, using fake profiles, have targeted app users for theft, burglaries, sexual assaults, and, in extreme cases, murder. Notable instances include Stephen Port, known as 'the Grindr Killer', who used it alongside other dating apps to find his young victims in 2014, and security guard Jack Crawley, who murdered one man and attempted to kill another in 2023 after meeting both on Grindr.
Last year, gangs in London and the West Midlands were separately convicted and jailed for using the app to carry out dozens of robberies on innocent victims after arranging to visit their homes under the pretense of a hookup. Yet, not everyone is caught: a freedom of information response from West Yorkshire Police last year revealed that almost nine in 10 investigations involving Grindr between 2019 and 2024 were dropped due to difficulties identifying a suspect.
Police Investigation Failings
A review of Hertfordshire Constabulary's investigation into Mr Gough's death uncovered multiple failings. A group of identified suspects were spoken to as 'individuals requiring safeguarding' with 'stern advice', rather than being treated as alleged blackmailers. No DNA evidence was collected by police, and the phone number used by the gang was linked to at least two other cases of blackmail; a BBC investigation connected the gang to at least four cases of alleged Grindr-based extortion.
A subsequent professional standards probe concluded that the threshold for a charge of blackmail had been met and should have been pursued further, but the direction of Hertfordshire's investigation was 'unclear'. Despite Mr Tewson's complaints, the probe did not find that the failings were motivated by homophobia. Hertfordshire Constabulary stated it is 'dedicated to delivering learning' on 'specific issues faced by... the LGBTQ+ community' and reiterated condolences to Mr Tewson.
Ongoing Reviews and Further Cases
Neighbouring Bedfordshire Police has been appointed to review the case and may lead a subsequent reinvestigation, though much digital and physical evidence is now irretrievably lost. Bedfordshire Police declined to comment while the review is in progress.
Mr Tewson is petitioning Grindr because his partner's death is not the only one linked to allegations of Grindr-based blackmail. Nine weeks after Mr Gough died, fashion student Liam McHale was found dead just 16 miles away in High Wycombe. The night before his death, he confided in friends that he was being blackmailed on Grindr by a user falsely claiming to be underage and attempted to report it to police, who encouraged him to wait until the next day as he had been drinking. His body was discovered by a friend a day later; an inquest recorded an open verdict, listing the cause of death as asphyxiation and multiple drug intoxication. Thames Valley Police is continuing to investigate whether he was being blackmailed.
Call for Action and Grindr's Response
No link has been established between the two deaths, but Mr Tewson insists Grindr must act before more lives are lost. 'Grindr has a responsibility—this is not an isolated issue,' he said. 'I've got to keep going. It's too much of a life-altering event to not keep going through with this. I've come too far to just drop it. I was with Scott for too long to just let it go, and I think people need to be held to account.'
In a statement to the Daily Mail, a Grindr spokesperson said: 'We are deeply saddened by Scott's death and extend our sincere condolences to Cameron and everyone who loved him. Grindr is carefully reviewing the letter.'
