Grindr has agreed to pay £26m to settle a lawsuit over allegations that it shared users' personal information — including their HIV status — with third parties.
The report indicates that grindr has agreed to pay £26m to settle a lawsuit over allegations that it shared users’ personal information — including their HIV status — with third parties.
It further notes that the world’s largest LGBTQ+ dating app was sued in the High Court in 2024 over claims it misused people’s personal information.
The class action suit was later served in the US, with the law firm leading the case saying it had signed up more than 11,000 claimants.
According to a US regulatory filing, Grindr will make two £13m payments to settle the claims. The firm stated the settlement includes no admission of liability.
Grindr emphasised that the claims relate to “historical data practices” before 2020, when it was owned by the Chinese firm Kunlun.
The filing submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission by Grindr stated a settlement had been reached on 2 September.
“While Grindr disputes the allegations, it recognises and acknowledges the distress and loss of trust expressed by some of its UK users regarding that pre-2020 period,” the company stated in its filing.
The firm has agreed to pay £13m to the counterparties by 31 December and a further £13m by 31 March 2027.
The claims, brought more than two years ago by law firm Austen Hayes, alleged that Grindr had shared sensitive data with third parties for commercial purposes, breaching UK privacy laws.
It stated this included information about the ethnicity and sexual orientation of its users.
People on Grindr have the option to share their HIV status along with when they were last tested – a move it says aims to reduce stigma, facilitate conversations and help users make informed health choices.
Chaya Hanoomanjee, the lawyer who led the claim, stated in April 2024 claimants had “experienced significant distress” over their sensitive and private information being shared without their consent.
She stated the company “owes it to the LGBTQ+ community it serves to compensate those whose data has been compromised”.
Two data analytics services, Apptimize and Localytics, were identified as third parties with access to the sensitive data.
