A new study reported on Thursday in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) that men who use smartphone apps intended for arranging sex on demand with other men are at increased risk for gonorrhea and chlamydia infections compared with men that meet other men for sex in person and through internet-based services. The geosocial networking applications, or “hook-up” apps, may also be worth exploring for future interventions, according to the study authors.

“We want to make people aware of the risks and benefits with any new technology,” said epidemiologist Matthew Beymer, lead author of the study.

Beymer and colleagues noted that apps such as SCRUFF and Grindr, both of which were introduced in 2009, have become popular in the gay and bisexual communities. The apps use smartphone global positioning satellite (GPS) capabilities to allow users to find other users nearby interested in sexual encounters. A few years ago, the Los Angeles LGBT Center began asking clients, mainly men who have sex with men (MSM) about their use of the apps via questionnaires.

The researchers compared the rates of STIs among MSM who reported using the hook-up apps with MSM who meet their sexual partners on websites and in-person meetings at places such as bars and gyms. Data were available for 7,184 men between August 2011 and January 2013. Seventeen percent of MSM used hook-up apps, about 34 percent used in-person meetings, and roughly 22 percent used the internet to meet partners. A smaller proportion reported using a combination of approaches.

The MSM using hook-up apps were about 25 percent more likely to test positive for gonorrhea and 37 percent more likely to be diagnosed with Chlamydia infection compared with the MSM that used the other methods to meet partners. No differences were found for risk of HIV and syphilis infections, but the number of these cases found in the study was too small to accurately assess risk, according to Beymer.

“We don’t necessarily want individuals to stop using these technologies,” Beymer said. “We realize as public health professionals that meeting people will evolve with the technologies.”

“We’d like to see these applications used as an education tool in addition to their original intention,” he said.