Grindr to Pay £26 Million

The owners of the popular queer dating app Grindr have agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit, in which the service was accused of sharing users' personal data, including HIV status, with third parties, by paying £26 million.

The lawsuit against Grindr was filed in the UK High Court in 2024, and similar proceedings were subsequently initiated in the US. According to the law firm Austen Hayes, which represents the claimants, more than 11,000 individuals joined the proceedings.

The claimants alleged that Grindr shared users' sensitive data, including sexual orientation, ethnicity, HIV status, and the date of their last HIV test, with third parties for commercial purposes without obtaining the necessary consent. Case documents named the analytics services Apptimize and Localytics as having gained access to some of this data. According to the claimants, the data could also have been used for ad personalization.

It came to light as early as 2018 that Grindr was sharing HIV status data with analytics companies. At the time, the company stated that the practice aligned with industry standards, though it later ceased sharing this information. Grindr emphasized that the allegations related to the company's data processing practices prior to 2020. The company's official statement read: "While Grindr disagrees with the allegations, it acknowledges the concerns raised by some British users regarding the period leading up to 2020 and the loss of trust."

Grindr stated that since 2020, it has significantly changed its approach to personal data protection and continues to work on transparency, user control over their data, and service security.

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