No doubt, the apps have taken over these days. The actual real life cruising is seriously down at many places.
Safety used to be a matter of somewhat lesser concern. You were not taking each and every hookup back home
. There were all those backrooms, spas, clubs. Actually, few guys would even want to go that far on their first encounter. You were not getting married to this guy anyway... So, if it turned out to be that good in the first place, you'd probably get together again at a more private place.
Once the heteronorm invaded the gay world, and the word started spreading that you need to meet, know, romance, etc., the guy you were going to mess around with, the ballgame changed.
Sure, it is totally stupid to send someone your home address, without checking him out first in public, and kinda interviewing him for the job? But you could see where this was coming from.
In the end, you'd still have to take the App dude to your place if you wanted to have sex with him. Now, he may have passed his little "job interview" at the neighboring Bucks with flying colors only to turn into a common, if armed robber once he steps over the threshold of your home... .
I guess, we just need to be patient a bit, and see a new generation of gay venues rise, modelled around the requirements of the new world we live in