In brief
The largest LGBTQ+ dating app has signed a £26m deal to settle a UK class action claiming it unlawfully shared users’ HIV status with data‑analytics firms. The lawsuit, filed in 2024 and later served in the US, involved over 11,000 claimants. Grindr will pay two £13m instalments by year‑end 2024 and March 2027, while rejecting liability. Earlier investigations by Norway’s and the UK’s data‑protection bodies had already fined the company. The move follows changes in 2020 after the sale of the app to new owners.
Grindr has agreed to pay a £26 million settlement to settle a class action claiming it disclosed users’ personal data—including their HIV status—to third‑party advertisers.
The lawsuit was first filed in the UK’s High Court in 2024, and was later served in the US where a law firm reported more than 11,000 claimants. The settlement requires Grindr to make two payments of £13 million each, with no admission of liability.
In a filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Grindr said the dispute concerns data practices that pre‑dated 2020, the year it was taken over by Chinese firm Kunlun.
Two analytics providers identified as parties in the case were Apptimize and Localytics, which allegedly received users’ HIV data for advertising purposes. Granada had shut off that data feed after 2020, even while defending the practice as industry standard at the time.
Grindr has already faced penalties: a £5.5 million fine from Norway’s data‑protection authority and a reprimand from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office.
In the settlement announcement, the company emphasized that it “overhauled” its privacy practices in 2020 to better serve its community. “We are committed to transparency, user control, and responsible data practices,” it added.
