Grindr to pay £26m to settle UK lawsuit over sharing HIV status data

Grindr, the world's largest LGBTQ+ dating app, has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK class action lawsuit over allegations it shared sensitive user data with third parties, including information about users' HIV status and sexual orientation. The settlement was disclosed in a US regulatory filing.

The allegations

The class action suit was first brought in the UK High Court in 2024 by law firm Austen Hayes, which alleged that Grindr had shared sensitive personal data with third-party analytics services Apptimize and Localytics for commercial purposes, breaching UK privacy laws. The claim was later served in the US, with more than 11,000 claimants signing up. The data allegedly shared included users' ethnicity, sexual orientation, and HIV status — information that users of the app can optionally share, which Grindr says aims to reduce stigma and help users make informed health choices.

The settlement terms

According to the filing, Grindr will make two payments of £13 million — one by December 31 and a further £13 million by March 31, 2027. The firm said the settlement includes no admission of liability. Grindr stressed that the claims relate to historical data practices before 2020, when the app was owned by Chinese firm Kunlun. The company said: While Grindr disputes the allegations, it recognizes and acknowledges the distress and loss of trust expressed by some of its UK users regarding that pre-2020 period. Grindr became a publicly listed company in 2022, two years after new owners took over from Kunlun.