A new paper on sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) suggests that the phone dating apps which are used by gay men to find a sexual partner pose a higher risk of getting infections than meeting in bars, clubs or online.

Apps like Recon, Grindr and Scruff use the geolocation facility of the smart phone to help the user find other men in his vicinity who are also looking for sex.

Researchers in Los Angeles, California, carried out a survey of nearly 7,200 homosexual and bisexual men who visited a sexual health centre between 2011 and 2013.

About 34% met sexual partners in person only, 30% used a combination of person to person and online dating and 36% used only smart phone apps along with other methods.

The volunteers were tested for sexually-transmitted infections (STI) and also questioned about their use of drugs and social networking in sexual encounters.

The app Grindr accumulated 2.5 million new users in 2012 and in 2013, it had six million users in 192 countries all over the world.

Smartphone apps are favored by younger well educated men who are under 40 and those of white or Asian ethnic backgrounds. App users were also tended to use recreational drugs, including cocaine and ecstasy.

They were also 23% more likely to be infected with gonorrhoea and 35% more likely to be infected with Chlamydia. The method of approach hardly made any difference to the likelihood of infection with HIV or syphilis.

The researchers suggest that apps of smart phone make it easier to meet potential sex partners quickly than other traditional methods. This boosted the chances of risky anonymous encounters and therefore of getting STDs.

The researchers also point out that their findings may not be applicable to gay men in other areas or to those who are not attending a dedicated sexual health clinic.