Grindr, a popular hookup app, has agreed to a significant payout in a U.K. lawsuit settlement over allegations of sharing sensitive user information, including HIV status, with advertisers. The California-based company will pay £26 million (around $48.6 million Cdn) to approximately 12,000 individuals who joined the claim filed by London law firm Austen Hays in 2024.
The lawsuit contends that Grindr breached U.K. privacy laws by sharing user data with external companies before April 2020, when Grindr revised its consent policies. Information such as users’ HIV status, last HIV testing dates, PrEP usage, and other medical records were reportedly shared with third-party advertising companies Localytics and Apptimize for targeted advertising purposes. The lawsuit also suggests that this data may have been further distributed to additional parties.
Austen Hays emphasized that Grindr users might have assumed that their submitted information was only visible to other app users. The law firm highlighted Grindr’s importance in the 2SLGBTQ+ community for facilitating connections and encounters among gay, bisexual, trans, and queer individuals, stressing the need for accountability in handling user data.
Eligible claimants who used Grindr’s free version between 2016 and 2020 could receive £2,167 or $4,050 Cdn each if the settlement is evenly distributed. The company plans to disburse the initial settlement installment by the end of this year and the remaining amount by March 31, 2027, as per a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing.
Grindr clarified that the settlement does not imply any admission of liability but acknowledged the concerns raised by some U.K. users regarding the pre-2020 period. This legal issue in the U.K. followed a previous incident in Norway, where Grindr was fined for unlawfully sharing user data, a decision the company unsuccessfully challenged in 2024.
Formerly owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech Co. Ltd., Grindr transitioned to a group of private investors in 2020 due to regulatory concerns about data privacy. The app, boasting over 15 million monthly active users globally, reported $138 million US ($190 million CAD) in revenue for the second quarter of 2026, as stated in their recent investor report.