Grindr has agreed to pay £26 million to settle a lawsuit brought by thousands of users in the UK who alleged that the dating app shared highly sensitive personal information, including, in some cases, their HIV status, with advertising companies.
The settlement brings an end to a two-year legal battle that began in April 2024, when UK law firm Austen Hays filed a claim at the High Court of England and Wales on behalf of Grindr users. The lawsuit alleged that the company breached UK privacy laws through data-sharing practices that continued until early 2020.
Austen Hays represented about 12,000 users in the case. If the £26 million settlement is divided equally among them, each claimant would receive an average of approximately £2,167.
Founded in 2009, Grindr was created to help gay men connect and arrange dates and meetups. The platform now describes itself as the world’s largest dating app for gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people, with nearly 15 million users globally.
In a US regulatory filing, Grindr said it had resolved the UK group action over what it described as “historical data practices before 2020,” when the company was owned and controlled by Chinese gaming firm Beijing Kunlun Tech.
The California-based company said the settlement did not amount to an admission of wrongdoing.
“The settlement includes no findings or admission of liability. 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,” the company said.
Under the settlement agreement, Grindr will pay £13 million by the end of 2026, with the remaining £13 million due by the end of March 2027.
