Grindr's new travel feature hopes to become your new fave (digital) gayborhood

Grindr, the dating and hookup app used by 13 million people around the world, shared details on how it hopes to become a digital gayborhood.

According to a presentation Out attended earlier this week at the company's Los Angeles office, 27 percent of Grindr users (about 3.5 million people) are actively traveling and use the app interpersonally to find community in new cities, get recommendations on restaurants and safe neighborhoods to stay in, and discover local LGBTQ+ events.

Armed with this knowledge, Grindr is currently in the process of crafting a travel feature page presented as a street map that will allow users to see the locations of other users around them, highlight gayborhoods in each city, and share local LGBTQ+ events as they're happening.

Called "Roam," the feature which will allow users to place your profile in a new location ahead of a trip. "Roam allows you to ‘visit’ a new geography to explore other profiles, be seen by members of the local community, and chat with people in that location," reads a release from Grindr. "Roam is currently in testing in several markets and will be launching broadly later this year."

The app is currently available in 190 countries, including 60 where it's still illegal to be gay. Having a place for these resources to live could be quite valuable for locals and visitors alike.

The travel page's features are still in the early beta phases with no set rollout timeline, but Grindr's intentions are clear and promise exciting updates to come. It is unclear what features will be accessible for free users versus paid subscribers.

In the meantime, Grindr has launched the first season of its Host or Travel series where app users explore the LGBTQ+ scenes in various cities around the world. Season 1 features Los Angeles, Madrid, Zipolite, and Rio with two more episodes on the way this summer. Season 2 is expected to begin filming this fall.

Watch Host or Travel's Madrid episode in the video below.