Grindr to Pay £26m ($35.2m) to Settle UK Privacy Claims Over HIV Status Data Sharing

Grindr will pay £26m ($35.2m) to roughly 12,000 UK claimants over pre-2020 sharing of sensitive data including HIV status, in two installments, without admitting liability.

Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million ($35.2 million) to settle a UK class action, filed in April 2024, alleging it unlawfully shared sensitive user data — including HIV status, PrEP use, ethnicity, and sexual orientation — with third parties without adequate consent during 2016–2020, when the free app was owned by Chinese conglomerate Kunlun. The roughly 12,000 claimants were represented by law firm Austen Hays. The settlement was reached on September 2 and disclosed in a US SEC filing; it contains no findings or admission of liability, and Grindr continues to dispute the allegations. Payment is split into two lump sums: £13m due by December 31, 2026, and £13m by March 31, 2027, though the distribution method to claimants has not been confirmed. The reports differ on the recipients of the data: one describes analytics providers Apptimize and Localytics, while the other cites allegations of sharing with advertisers; Grindr says the data was shared in encrypted form with two service providers. Norway's data protection authority fined Grindr €6.5m in 2021, and the UK ICO reprimanded the company in July 2022. Grindr says it overhauled its privacy program after its 2020 sale to new owners.

• Settlement amount: £26 million ($35.2 million), paid in two lump sums of £13m each — due by December 31, 2026 and March 31, 2027.
• Roughly 12,000 claimants in the UK class action, represented by Austen Hays.
• Lawsuit filed in April 2024 over data practices from 2016 to early 2020, when Grindr was owned by Chinese conglomerate Kunlun.
• Allegations concern sharing of HIV status, PrEP use, ethnicity, and sexual orientation data without adequate consent; Report 1 identifies recipients as analytics providers Apptimize and Localytics, while Report 2 describes advertisers — a…
• Settlement reached September 2 and disclosed to the US SEC; includes no findings or admission of liability, and Grindr continues to dispute the allegations.
• Prior regulatory actions: Norway's data protection authority fined Grindr €6.5m in 2021; the UK ICO issued a reprimand in July 2022.
• Grindr says it overhauled its privacy program after its 2020 sale to new owners.
• Distribution method for settlement funds to claimants has not been confirmed.