Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of users in the United Kingdom who accused the dating app of unlawfully sharing highly sensitive personal information, including HIV status, with advertising companies.
The settlement brings to an end a two-year legal battle initiated in April 2024, when UK law firm Austen Hays filed a claim at the High Court of England and Wales on behalf of users who alleged that Grindr violated UK privacy laws through its data practices up to early 2020.
According to the law firm, about 12,000 people were represented in the action. If the £26 million settlement is divided equally, each claimant would receive an average of approximately £2,167.
Under the agreement, Grindr will make two payments of £13 million each — the first by the end of 2026 and the second by the end of March 2027.
The allegations relate to the period before 2020, when Grindr was owned and controlled by Chinese gaming company Beijing Kunlun Tech. The company has denied liability and stressed that the settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing or contain any findings against it.
In a regulatory filing, Grindr said it recognised the distress and loss of trust expressed by some UK users over its historical data practices, while maintaining that it disputes the allegations.
The company also said it had significantly overhauled its privacy programme since 2020, with a focus on transparency, user control and responsible data practices.
Grindr, founded in 2009, describes itself as the world’s largest dating app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, with nearly 15 million users globally.
The settlement follows previous scrutiny of Grindr’s handling of users’ personal information. In 2018, the company said it would stop sharing users’ HIV status with third parties after reports raised concerns about the practice. The company was also fined by Norwegian authorities over data protection violations.
