Grindr pays £26m to settle UK lawsuit over allegedly sharing users' HIV status

Sep 7, 2026

Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK High Court class action lawsuit representing over 11,000 users. The lawsuit alleged that the LGBTQ+ dating app breached privacy laws by sharing sensitive user data, including HIV status, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, with third-party advertising companies. Grindr, which denies liability, stated the claims involve historical practices prior to 2020 under its former Chinese owner, Beijing Kunlun Tech, and noted it has since overhauled its privacy program.

UK privacy lawsuit settlement

▪The class action lawsuit against Grindr was initiated in April 2024 by the London-based law firm Austen Hays on behalf of thousands of UK users.
▪The law firm Austen Hays represented between 11,000 and 12,000 claimants in the class action lawsuit against Grindr.
▪Grindr agreed to pay £26 million to settle a UK High Court lawsuit alleging the dating app shared users' sensitive personal information, including their HIV status, with third parties.
▪Grindr will pay the £26 million settlement in two equal installments of £13 million, with the first due by December 31, 2026, and the second by March 31, 2027.

HIV status data sharing

▪The lawsuit alleged that Grindr shared sensitive user data, including HIV status, ethnicity, and sexual orientation, with third parties for commercial purposes without user consent.
▪Grindr users have the option to share their HIV status and last testing date on the app to reduce stigma and help users make informed health choices.

Third-party advertising companies

▪The lawsuit claimed that a potentially unlimited number of third-party advertising companies used the shared data to customize advertisements for Grindr users.
▪The lawsuit identified two data analytics services, Apptimize and Localytics, as third parties that had access to Grindr users' sensitive personal data.

Chinese ownership before 2020

▪Grindr stated that the lawsuit's allegations concern historical data practices prior to 2020, when the company was owned by the Chinese firm Beijing Kunlun Tech.
▪In 2020, Beijing Kunlun Tech sold Grindr to San Vicente Acquisition for $608 million after a US national security panel raised concerns about Chinese government access to US user data.

Privacy program overhaul

▪Grindr stated that it has overhauled its privacy practices since 2020 to focus on transparency, user control, and the unique needs of its community.
▪Grindr stated in a US regulatory filing that the settlement includes no admission of liability, though the company acknowledged the distress expressed by some UK users.

Regulatory fines

▪The UK Information Commissioner's Office reprimanded Grindr in 2022 for its historical data protection practices.
▪Norway's data protection authority fined Grindr for violating data protection rules, a decision and fine that was subsequently upheld by Norway's court of appeal.