Grindr is a quintessential example of first-mover advantage. Countless follow-up competitors have failed to challenge Grindr's market dominance, despite these competitor apps being vastly better designed and more feature rich. The app itself remained practically stagnant (because the first-mover advantage was so immense there was no real need to improve the product) for years until it was bought by Kunlun Tech who actually employed enough people to work on releasing new features. Multiple profile photos weren't supported until this year, while most of its competitors have had the same feature for years or even close to a decade (e.g. Jack'd).

The world has been better for queer people living in many civilized & tolerant countries compared to 10 years ago when Grindr was first released. How much role Grindr had to play in this is extremely doubtful.