Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million ($35.1 million) to settle a U.K. lawsuit over allegations that the dating app shared users’ sensitive personal information, including HIV status, with third parties.
The LGBTQ+ dating platform was sued in April 2024 over claims that it violated U.K. privacy laws by sharing sensitive information for commercial purposes, including advertising. The case was brought on behalf of more than 10,000 users.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on September 2, 2026, Grindr said the settlement relates to historical data practices from before 2020, when the company was owned and managed by Chinese gaming firm Kunlun. Kunlun sold Grindr to an investor group called San Vicente Acquisition LLC in May 2020.
Grindr said the settlement does not include any admission of liability or findings against the company. While it continues to dispute the allegations, the company acknowledged the distress and loss of trust expressed by some U.K. users over its practices during the pre-2020 period.
The company also said it has significantly changed its privacy program since 2020 and remains committed to transparency, user control and responsible handling of personal information.
Under the settlement, Grindr will pay £13 million by December 31, 2026, followed by another £13 million by March 31, 2027.
The dispute dates back to April 2018, when Norwegian research organization SINTEF reported that Grindr was sharing users’ HIV status and last test dates with Apptimize and Localytics, two companies hired to help optimize the app.
Grindr later said it would stop sharing the information. At the time, the company insisted that it had never sold and would never sell personal user information, particularly sensitive details such as HIV status or the date of a user’s last HIV test. Grindr said the information was provided to Apptimize and Localytics only so they could provide services to the company.
The privacy controversy continued in 2021 when Norway’s data protection authority fined Grindr £8.6 million for violating GDPR rules by sharing personal information, including users’ location, sexual orientation and mental health-related data, with advertisers. The fine was later reduced to £5.5 million.
If this article helped you, please consider supporting our work. Every small contribution keeps Abijita.com independent and running.
Grindr challenged the decision, but Norway’s court of appeal upheld the fine last October.
Grindr to Pay $35 Million to Settle UK Privacy Lawsuit Over User Data
