Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million (around $35 million) to settle a UK lawsuit brought on behalf of more than 10,000 users who alleged the company shared their HIV status, last test dates, and other sensitive personal information with third-party advertising firms. The settlement, disclosed in an SEC filing on September 2, covers data practices that occurred before 2020, when Grindr was under different ownership by Chinese gaming company Kunlun. Grindr made clear the settlement “includes no findings or admission of liability” and says it now operates under a revamped privacy program.
The roots of the case go back to 2018, when Norwegian research group SINTEF found that Grindr was passing users’ HIV status and test date to app-optimization companies Apptimize and Localytics. Grindr halted that practice at the time. Norway’s data protection authority later issued a separate fine of roughly £8.6 million (later reduced to £5.5 million) for GDPR violations related to sharing location, sexual orientation, and mental health details with advertisers. The UK settlement will be paid in two tranches: £13 million by December 31, 2026, and a further £13 million by March 31, 2027.