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Grindr has agreed to pay a total of £26 million to settle a group privacy action in the UK, according to a regulatory filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The California-based company will disburse the sum in two equal instalments of £13 million, the first due by the end of December 2026 and the second by the end of March 2027. The settlement, reached on 2 September, involves no admission of liability or findings against the firm. Grindr noted in the filing that the claims relate exclusively to data practices before 2020 when the app was owned by Beijing Kunlun Tech.
The Guardian reported that the class action was initiated by London law firm Austen Hays in April 2024 and eventually signed up 12,000 UK users of the app. Claimants allege that Grindr unlawfully processed and shared their personal data, including HIV status and last tested date, with advertising technology providers without consent. This practice was said to have violated UK privacy laws by enabling the targeting of customised advertisements based on sensitive characteristics such as ethnicity and sexual orientation. If divided equally the settlement would provide an average of roughly £2,167 per claimant.
Independent researchers brought the data-sharing issue to light in 2018, revealing that Grindr had transmitted users’ HIV-related information to analytics companies Apptimize and Localytics. Ars Technica reported that while the app allowed optional sharing of HIV status to reduce stigma and promote informed decisions, the transmission to third parties occurred without explicit user permission for that purpose. Grindr at the time defended the practice as industry standard but later discontinued sharing HIV data with those vendors.
Subsequent regulatory actions included a reprimand from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office in 2022 for the company’s data practices. In Norway the data protection watchdog levied a fine equivalent to about 65 million kroner which Grindr unsuccessfully appealed in court rulings through 2025 according to Norwegian media. These cases underscored growing concerns over how digital platforms handle health data for LGBTQ+ users globally.
Grindr which says it serves nearly 15 million users worldwide and was founded in 2009 was acquired by a US private equity group after divesting from Chinese ownership in 2020. The firm stated that it has since transformed its privacy framework to prioritise user control and transparency. In the SEC filing Grindr said “While Grindr disputes the allegations it recognises and acknowledges the distress and loss of trust expressed by some of its UK users regarding that pre-2020 period.”
Chaya Hanoomanjee of Austen Hays stated that the settlement compensates users who experienced significant distress from the compromise of their data. She noted that the company owes it to the LGBTQ+ community it serves to compensate those whose data has been compromised. The company added in its statement that “Grindr is and remains a safe space for users committed to transparency user control and responsible data practices.”
