Grindr Offline: What does it mean when you see “offline” status on a Grindr profile?

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So you chatted with a guy on Grindr earlier (or they tapped you) and when you checked his profile a few hours later, it says “offline.” Does offline mean that they’re actually offline or did they block you? Maybe they deleted the app or is it  something else?

You reached this because you’re a bit confused (as many of us have been) about what offline actually means on the gay hookup app.

What “offline” actually means on Grindr

It might seem like an easy answer (especially to smartasses) as the opposite of “offline” simply means they’re not online, but with those paying attention Grindr “offline” appears as it means something entirely different.

Here’s why: You chatted with the said profile 6 hours ago, yet there are other guys you chatted up further out that shows a more accurate timestamp when they were last “online” such as “11 hours ago” or even as far as “22 days ago.

See? Freakin’ 11 days ago, but you chatted with him four hours ago. That logic makes no sense — what gives? Why is some dude you chatted up offline even though you talked to them 5 hours ago while others that haven’t logged on in 8 hours, shows that they were online… well, “8 hours  ago?

The meaning of offline on Grindr is confusing to say the least. Let’s clear that up.

Offline may mean incognito in the Grindr-verse

It turns out that the “offline” status isn’t as straightforward as it sounds. You see Grindr has several membership levels. One of those paid subscription levels is Unlimited and an Unlimited membership gives you the ability to select “incognito mode.”

According to the details of Grindr Unlimited, incognito mode not only “hides your profile from the Grindr grid while still allowing you to freely use the app” but while in that mode, your profile status will display offline to other profiles that choose to tap or message you.

So when you see a Grindr profile that’s saying “offline,” it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re actually offline at that point in time (though they might be!).

In incognito mode, Grindr users can be online yet don’t want anyone to know they’re online. With the offline status, their Grindr footprint is completely masked in this mode, they won’t appear in any “Viewed Me” nor will any Read Receipts be sent — meaning they can leave you on read without you knowing.

Even so, don’t read too deep into it.,,,

Offline doesn’t mean they’re not interested in you…

…it just means they want to appear offline. For whatever reasons.

With Grindr, it’s not hard to take things personally as we put ourselves out there for others to judge us. We put our best photos and our interests in hopes of making a connection with someone you’re attracted to.

Putting yourself out there like that isn’t easy and when being vulnerable, we often create negative narratives in our head that may not exist. So it’s really important to say that because someone you’ve chatted with earlier, or showed interest, is now in “offline” mode doesn’t mean they’re avoiding you or not interested or find you ugly.

No one said that except you.

As we all know, connections on Grindr are mostly fleeting even when you get a positive response. That’s because when someone logs into the app may want something different and that intent might change from time to time. It all depends on that person, their mood, time of day, what they’re doing and the place in which they’re online.

Someone may be using Grindr just to chat or to waste time while at work, others might be serious about hooking up for “friends or fun” right now, while others might be looking for a deeper connection.

Whatever the case, some pay a good chunk of money to appear offline.

Keep that in mind when you’re feeling hurt, sad or rejected by someone that showed interest or tapped you, but is now offline. You shouldn’t immediately take that to heart or as a judgement on your looks as you have no idea what that other person is doing or thinking or intended. Grindr can be great for those that meets society’s criteria of what’s “handsome,” and for those of us that are not, the rejection can be take a toll on mental health.

The person could be busy at work, stepped away from the app, walking around in public, or at dinner with family. All we know is that they paid a premium price so they don’t appear to be online. That’s their choice and not on you at all. 

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2 Comments

  1. avatar
    Bussy Eater 420 says:

    They may have signed out of their accounts or an extended duration of being offline such as longer than 11 days. When an online user turns on incognito, their profile will instantly say “Online 10 minutes ago” even though they were online one minute ago. When I see someone do this, they may just want some space. Keep in mind that the time they turn offline may have indeed just been an actual 10 minutes in some rare occasions and you caught them at a wrong time.

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